James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by PeachyKeen13
Summary: Not your typical 'Harry and James switch times' story! James is taking on the role of Harry for his son's third year of school - being only a fifth year himself, he has no idea how much has changed when he wakes up one morning at the Dursley's. R&R!
1. 1: Owl Post

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the lines that came directly from the book.**

**A/N: Okay, if you have any questions about the plot of this story, then _here's_ the place to look! Basically, what's going on is that James and Harry have switched times - Harry's in the past, while James (who is fifteen in this story and is therefore already an Animagus) is thrust forward into the future, on the night that Harry turns thirteen. He's pretty much going to live Harry's third year for him:) He's only going to tell a few people that he's James, and TRUST me, there will be plenty of fluffy moments, NO SLASH, Marauder-ing, Snape pranking, and James's reactions:) A lot of this is copied from the book (although some things have been changed, in order to make it not so wordy and stuff that you've already read). Trust me, if you love Marauders, James, The Golden Trio, and shocking moments, you'll like this story:) Any questions, just review and I'll answer them! [Oh, and this'll probably end up being AU by the end...I love James too much to let things go on as they did in cannon, don't you?:)] Oh, and this story will be told entirely from James's POV until the very, very end :) **

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><p><span>Chapter One: Owl Post<span>

James Potter woke up gasping, and that was highly unusual for him.

James couldn't have told you the last time he'd had a nightmare if he tried, and he had a hard time explaining the cold sweat and shaking to himself now.

'It's nothing,' he told himself. 'Probably just some bout of the flu that's going round - James Potter doesn't get scared like some silly first year _girl_.'

James sat up in bed, expecting to see his golden walls and red comforter; however, the sight that greeted him was _much _different.

He was in some small, shabby little _closet_ of a room! The walls were stripped of their wallpaper, so they looked awful. There was nothing in the room at all that said it belonged to a wizard, especially to James Potter. There weren't any Quidditch posters, or Zonko's products...there weren't any pictures of himself, his family, or any of the Marauders...no, scratch that...on the bedside table there _was_ a picture of himself...a picture of himself, looking quite a few years older and dancing with - with Lily Evans!

"Yes!" James shouted, thrusting his fist into the air and - momentarily - forgetting everything else. "I'm dancing with Evans! She doesn't loathe me!"

"Wait-" James continued, the gears in his brain turning. "Why do I look so bloody _old_?"

James continued his inspection of the room. There wasn't much in it. He poked around a bit, completely getting out of bed. He was dressed in clothes that were _way_ too big for him (that he was quite certain he hadn't worn to bed), and his head was pounding with a headache. There was a photo album on his dresser, but it didn't look like anything he'd be interested in. Everything else seemed relatively tidy (which confused James further - even if he _had_ somehow changed rooms over the night, nothing James ever owned or did was tidy).

"Maybe this is all some bloody _joke_." James decided. "Maybe Sirius or Moony is messing with me!"

"Sirius!" James shouted, cupping his hands to his mouth. "Moony! C'mon out, you idiots! I've figured it out, joke's over now!"

James barely registered the sound of thumping feet that suddenly were right outside his door. He barely registered the unlocking of a lock and the opening of the door. However, he most certainly _did_ register the fat idiot with the huge mustache who was now screaming his bloody head off at him.

"Potter! Quiet down _now_!" he screeched. "D'you want the neighbors knocking on our door? Now shut up and go to bed or there'll be no meals for a week, you hear me, boy?"

"Who in Merlin's name are you?" James asked, standing his ground.

"Excuse me?" Vernon asked in a venemous tone, his eyes narrow slits in comparison with the rest of his enormous features.

"You heard me." James said, feeling around his body for a wand. "Who are you? You're not my dad, nor my mum. You've no right to tell me to do anything." When finding no wand, James sighed. "Hey, wait a minute!" James said suddenly. "You're Sirius in disguise, aren't you! Oh, what a laugh! Kay Sirius, or Moony, or Peter, or whoever you are - the joke's up."

The man - instead of cracking a smile or turning into a chuckling teenager - looked murderous. James wasn't expecting that. He also wasn't expecting the sudden outburst that came from the man's too large mouth. "ENOUGH!" he shouted. "NOW STOP THIS NONSENSE, GO BACK TO BAD, OR YOU'LL WISH

YOU'D NEVER BEEN BORN, YOU FILTHY FREAK!"

"_Well_ then!" James sighed, turning off his lamp and crawling into bed. Just as the beady eyed stranger began his retreat, James's Marauder senses kicked in, and he yelled a hearty, "Night, mum!"

The fat idiot didn't even turn around.

At about one o'clock, James woke up again, this time to familiar sound of owls.

Momentarily forgetting where he was, James mumbled, "Could you get that, mate? M'too tired..."

When Sirius didn't jump up to get the window as James asked, the young wizard felt annoyed. "C'mon, Padfoot. Can you get that?" he tried again, putting on his best puppy face with his eyes still closed. "I got the door last night when _you_ were too tired...can't you walk two feet over and get the window?"

"Wait-" James said. "I don't _have_ a window...?"

The memories of what had happened two hours previous struck James like a whip, and he was sitting bolt upright in the unfamiliar bed. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness, and sighed.

Why hadn't Padfoot and Moony changed anything back yet? Why were they still pranking James? Wasn't it blindingly obvious that they'd been caught?

"Guys!" James whined.

The hooting from outside the window snapped James back into reality, and he bounded over to let the three owls in. Each carried a package or letter, and James set everything down on the tiny bed. He thanked the owls one by one, and let them back outside. One owl stayed, however - a large, snowy white female. She seemed nice enough, and there _was_ a cage over on the floor...

"Dunno..." James mumbled to himself, eyeing the owl. "Maybe she belongs here. "

Sighing, James opened the first package. In it was a birthday card and a newspaper clipping.

The clipping seemed almost pointless to James - just a family of wizards vacationing in Egypt. The card intrigued James, however, and he read it with keen interest.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy Birthday!_

_Look, I'm really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he rekons I shouldn't have shouted._

_It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses the old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff._

_I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year._

_We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there? _

_Don't let the Muggles get you down!_

_Try and come to London, _

_Ron_

_PS: Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week._

James was growing more and more confused. Who was Harry? Who was Ron? Who was Percy? Sighing, he leaned over and unwrapped the present that had come with the card. His eyes bulged out of his head when he saw the object - a Pocket Sneakaskope!

Granted, it was a cheap one, but James had just been complaining the other day because Sirius had accidently broken his state - of - the -art one. Maybe this really _was_ all just a prank, and this was Sirius's stupid way of saying, "Sorry James." But then, James noticed another letter written by the 'Ron' fellow attached to the gift, and he read it.

_Harry-this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize that Fred and George had put beetles in his soup._

_Bye- Ron._

Why would Sirius and Remus go to such lengths to trick him? And why explain what a Sneakoscope was? James knew perfectly well what one was...

'What if-' he thought suddenly. 'What if this isn't a trick?'

Sighing, James put the Sneakoscope down on the nearby bedside table, and retrieved the parcel that the white owl had been carrying.

In this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card, and a letter, this time from a girl.

_Dear Harry, _

_Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you're all right._

_I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you - what if they'd opened it at customs? - but then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday for a change. I bought your present by owl-order; there was an advertisement in the Darily Prophet (I've been getting it delievered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world). Did you see the picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's learning loads. I'm really jealous - the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating. _

_There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out. I hope it's not too long - it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for._

_Ron says he's going to be in London the last week of the holidays. Can you make it? Will your aunt and uncle let you come? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first!_

_Love from,_

_Hermione_

Okay, that sounded scarily like Remus - if not for the girly handwriting, James would have sworn it _had_ been Remus. Two rolls of parchment more? _Really_? That was a definite Moony action...and okay, James understood being jealous of someone who was in Egypt, but not because it gave one more _homework _opportunities! Hmph!

Actually...come to think of it, that letter_ could_ have been written by Lily...

'Or maybe,' a small voice in James's mind said. 'Her name really is Hermione and something's going on.'

Okay...Things James knew:

One: Everyone thinks his name is Harry for some reason. Oh, and his last name's still Potter.

Two: Harry's birthday is apparently not a much-recognized event.

Three: Harry lives with his aunt and uncle - who are Muggles - and he's apparently grown up without magic.

Four: This isn't a practical joke.

Hoping to find more clues (and almost feeling guilty about opening this 'Harry's' birthday gifts, since he obviously doesn't get many of them) James split open the package from Hermione.

James almost dropped it he was so excited - a sleek, black leather case with silver words stamped across it, reading "Broomstick Servicing Kit."

"Harry is the luckiest kid _ever_!" James whined, nearly bowing in respect to the gift. "Thank _you_, Hermione!"

The next gift was an updated version of 'The Monster Book of Monsters'. Being a Pureblood, James knew perfectly welll how _not_ to handle the snapping books, so he set it aside without unwrapping it any more than necessary, and instead, read the note that came with it.

_Dear Harry, _

_Happy Birthday!_

_Think you might find this useful for next year._

_Won't say no more here. Tell you when I see you._

_Hope the Muggles are treating you alright._

_All the best, _

_Hagrid_

Oh, Hagrid! Seems that the friendship that the Marauders had formed with him had survived through the years that had apparently gone by.

James was sure he wasn't in his own time anymore - partly because the Monster Book of Monsters had been updated, but also because the Calendar in the corner of Harry's room said that it was decades later than James remembered...he was taking it all rather well, everything considered. James shrugged and moved onto the letter he was sure was from Hogwarts.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross Station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock._

_Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parents or guardians to sign._

_A list of books for next year is enclosed._

_Yours sincerely, _

_Professor M. McGonagall_

Ah, Minnie!

So...Harry was in his third year. James himself was in his fifth year, but he was sure he could still pass for thirteen...wow. Harry's birthday was today, and he had just turned thirteen.

Sighing, James put down the letter and got up from the bed. He walked back over to the dresser, where the photo album was from earlier. Sure that there was no chance he would be getting back to sleep, James opened the front cover of the album slowly.

The first thing James saw was a picture of himself, Remus, and Sirius. He didn't recognize the picture at all. At the bottom - in a messy scrawl - it said, 'Seventh Year'. Huh. So James was really _far_ in the future...so far, that he had already left Hogwarts.

James flipped to the next page, which was a copy of the picture of him and Lily that was in the frame. It said at the bottom, 'James and Lily - Engagement'.

"Engagement?" James muttered happily. "I'm going to marry Evans? No way! No way, no way, no way! WOOT!"

The next four pages were all from James and Lily's wedding. Sirius was the best man, and Remus and Peter took part in the occasion as well. And Lily actually looked happy to be there...Lily looked happy to be standing next to him at the alter, happy to be holding his hand, happy to be Mrs. Potter...

The next page was dated, 'October 4, 1981'. It was a photograph of James and Lily with a baby. Underneath it said, 'James, Lily, and Baby Harry'.

Baby Harry?

"Harry's my son!" James exclaimed happily, completely forgetting the ill tempered Muggles a few rooms down. "I'm forward in time and everyone thinks I'm my son!"

James flipped through the rest of the album, but there were no more pictures of anyone he recognized. Just a few of Harry and two others - people James was sure were Ron and Hermione. Harry really did look exactly like him - it was easy to see why people were so mistaken.

James was about to close the album...when a letter in the back caught his attention...

_'In Loving Memory of my parents, James and Lily Potter, who both died trying to protect me on Halloween, 1981. Everyone says I look just like Dad, but I have Mum's eyes. I'm sorry that I never got to know two such wonderful people. I'll always love you both. -Harry'. _

James dropped the album in shock, leaned back on the bed, and closed his eyes in a dead faint.

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><p><strong>Please excuse any misspellings or grammatical errors, though I'm <em>pretty<em> sure it was all good:) Anyway, please review and tell me what you think! I know that I sort of went MIA from FanFiction for a lil while cause of school, but now I'm back, and updates will (HOPEFULLY) be a bit more frequent:) Actually, I've just finished typing the Chapter 'The Dementor' (which I THINK is chapter five) for this, and I hope you enjoyed:) Please review!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	2. 2: Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the lines that came directly from the book.**

**A/N: (DH SPOILER ALERT IN THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE!) Thank you all so much for the positive reviews! SIX reviews on Chapter One, that's awesome! I do plan to go through the whole book, and I just couldn't wait any longer, so I edited Chapter Two as quickly as I could and badda-bing, badda-boom, here it is! Oh, and this doesn't really have anything to do with anything, but...I kind of miss Fred Weasley right now...I was just re-watching some of the HP movies, and I remembered that he (SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT) dies and I was like, really sad:( It reminds me of post-Potter depression, lol...you know, they should really make that a medically classifiable disease;) Hee hee, all right, enough of my rambling, on with the story!**

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><p><span>Chapter Two: Aunt Marge's Big Mistake<span>

When James woke up, all he could think was, 'Please let it all have been a dream'.

But, sure enough - when he sat up in the uncomfortable, unfamiliar bed - he was in Harry Potter's room.

"I'm dead." James whispered to himself. "Lily and I are dead...we're dead...we were killed..."

"But Harry's alive-" James continued. "And if that's what we died for...then it was worth it."

"But!" he concluded. "Perhaps - since I'm here anyway - I can learn as much as I can, and when I go back, I'll just change it! Then Harry won't have to grow up with these bloody Muggles, and Lily and I can raise our son just the way he should have been raised."

But what if James never got back?

The thought plagued him, but he paid it little mind; the only thing that kept him from breaking down into sobs was the knowledge that he would _and_ could stop this terrible future from happening. But in order to collect enough information to do that, he'd have to put on one convincing portrayal.

"But I'm a Marauder." James said proudly. "And Marauders can do _anything_."

Sighing, James ran from his room - which the idiot Dursley had actually unlocked - and bounded down the noisy steps into the small (but unnaturally tidy) kitchen.

A blonde, horse-faced lady was at the stove, and paid no mind to James, who sat into two stupid (and equally fat) boys at the table. There was a small television (which James had begged his parents for so that he could have something entertaining in his room since he couldn't do magic until he was 17) which had a news report on. With no one talking to him, James tuned into the anchor's announcement.

"...The public is warned that Black is armed and extremely dangerous. A special hotline has been set up, and any sighting of Black should be reported immediately."

James nearly choked on his water at the sound of the escaped convict's name on the television. He didn't _look _familiar; he had matted black hair, and haunted eyes, and he looked as though he was laughing madly. _And his last name was 'Black'_...

'But how many Blacks are there in the world?' James asked himself. 'And Sirius would never do anything _that_ bad...we always drew the line when something involved illegality, 'cept the whole Animagi thing, cause that's for the greater good and all...'

"No need to tell us he's no good." Vernon Dursley sneered. "Look at the state of him, the filthy layabout! Look at his hair!"

"Shut up!" James screamed, not caring if the man was really Sirius or not; he wanted to yell at Dursley, and at _least_ freak him out.

"And why's that,_ Fairy_?" Dudley Dursley sneered, glaring at James. "That stupid prisoner your _friend_ or something?"

"My best friend!" James said, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be acting like Harry. "And I'll have you all know that his hair used to be _awesome_!"

"Don't lie, Potter!" Vernon threatened. "That man must be twenty years older than you! There's _no way _he's your best friend!"

"Who'd want to be friends with you, anyway?" Dudley sneered.

Sighing, Vernon stood up. "I'd better be off in a minute, Petunia. Marge's train gets in at ten."

All James could think the entire time was, '_This_ is what Harry grew up with? Poor boy...'

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><p>"Potter! Potter! Get the door! Vernon and Marge are back, Potter, get the door!"<p>

Sighing, James got up from the couch (are Muggle couches always so stiff, or is that just Lily's stupid sister?) and opened the door. Vernon and his evil counter part walked in. She looked just like Vernon (even had a mustache, though hers was less prominent than her brother's) right down to the stupid gut. James had to choke back a laugh; if ever he had pictured Vernon Dursley as a woman, _that_ was what he would have pictured, no doubt about it.

"Where's my Dudders?" Marge roared. "Where's my neffy-poo?"

"Neffy-poo?" James smirked incredulously.

"Oh, you're still here, are you?" she turned to James.

"Yes." James said spitefully.

"Don't say 'yes' in that ungrateful way! Damn good of Vernon and Petunia to keep you. Wouldn't have done it, myself. You'd have gone straight to an orphanage if you'd been dumped on my doorstep."

"Uh-huh." James said, paying her no mind. "So how long are you gonna be here, Marge?"

"That's_ Aunt_ Marge, Potter!" Vernon shrieked. "And she can stay as long as she likes!"

James rolled his eyes as Marge answered, "Oh, no need to fuss, Vernon. I'll only be here a week...can't leave my little doggy-woggies home alone for too long, can I? I don't completely trust Colonel Fubster to take completely good care of them, not after the emotional trauma he caused Ripper last Christmas when I took that vacation to France...you remember, Ripper?" Marge asked the bulldog in her arms. "You remember the mean man that took care of you last year? Yes you do, yes you do!"

"Aw, what a cute baby, _Aunt_ Marge!" James chortled sarcastically. "And I hadn't even known you'd been expecting!"

Vernon and Marge shot James daggers with their eyes, and he couldn't help but smile. Petunia paled drastically, and Vernon's face went completely purple with rage.

"Why don't we all sit for a nice dinner?" Petunia suggested, trying to keep her husband from completely losing his temper. At the mention of food, Dudley ran from the couch straight to the kitchen table. Marge and Vernon followed next, taking seats next to each othe. James slowly meanered his way to a seat near Dudley (hoping to maybe get a good kick at his fat little shin once in a while) and watched as his future wife's sister served the food.

After a while of meaningless conversation, the talk finally turned to James.

"You mustn't blame yourself for how this one turned out, Vernon." Marge said, disdainfully glancing at James. "If there's something rotten on the inside, there's nothing anyone can do about it.

"It's one of the basic rules of breeding," she continued. "You see it all the time with dogs. If there's something wrong with the bitch, then there's something wrong with the pup."

James probably wouldn't have said a word if Marge had insulted him; he'd have just spit in her food while she wasn't looking or something. But start insulting Lily Evans, and you _will_ feel the wrath of James Potter.

"There was nothing wrong with Lily Potter." James said through gritted teeth, glaring at Marge.

"Yes there was, and don't you lie!" she hiccuped. "Now," she turned to Petunia. "I'm not saying anything against your family, Petunia, but your sister was a bad egg. You see them in all the best families, and there's nothing you can do about it. Then, she ran off and married that wastrel, and here's the result right in front of us!"

"You'd do well to just shut your mouth now, _Aunt_ Marge." James sneered, black hate glowing towards the fat arse sitting just a few feet away from him. "Don't insult Lily in front of me."

"Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do, Potter!" Marge yelled. "Those parents of yours were lazy, good-for-nothings who were probably drunk half the time, and-"

"SHUT UP!" James screeched, standing up from the table. "JUST SHUT UP!"

"Right-" Marge said, pointing her finger at James. "Let me tell you, that I-"

But she didn't finish her sentence, for at that moment, she started to swell.

And the swelling didn't stop.

Marge Dursley blew up to the size of a balloon, and floated to the ceiling. James laughed, and laughed, and laughed; the wench got what she deserved.

While Petunia and Vernon were struggling to get the screaming Marge down, James ran from the room back upstairs. He grabbed the things he had recieved last night (and the photo album) and put them all in a plastic bag that he found smashed on the floor. He bounded down the steps two at a time, and frantically began to search for anything magical. Not having time to do a full search of the house, he used the fair bit of wandless magic he learned, to _Accio_ all of Harry's school things to him. He threw the plastic bag into Harry's trunk, retrieved Harry's wand, and ran out the front door onto the sidewalk.

He walked down several streets in the dead of night, until he sat on a wall in Magnolia Crescent (Not that James knew where that was). It was a particularly cold evening, and James found himself shivering within the first ten minutes of his time alone on the wall. He wanted to apparate or fly to Hogwarts or something, but 1) he knew he'd get caught and 2) he wasn't old enough. James wasn't really that worried about the Trace or anything - he knew that he couldn't get expelled from Hogwarts because, well, he'd already graduated, and even if he and Harry had somehow managed to switch lives, Harry's Trace wouldn't have been passed onto James. James was still in his own body, he was just acting like his son. He prayed that no one knew Harry well enough to spot the tiny differences between him and his son; the longer nose, the eye color...little things that could be his downfall.

James was contemplating if he should confide in anyone the truth, when a low growl from a nearby allyway stopped him. A very _familiar_ growl in a nearby allyway...

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><p><strong>I know that it wasn't as long as Chapter One (or at least it didn't seem to be as long, lol) but I still hope that it was enjoyable:) Oh, and I know Marge stayed for a week, but I really don't like her, so I just wanted to get a move on...it would have been a particularly boring read, anyway, since the purpose of this story isn't to just re-read The Prisoner of Azkaban...I have a plot here, and it will slowly become more profound:) Okay, now that that's out of the way...there's a button down there. Hear that faint, soft whimpering? It's coming from that button. It's like those whimpering dogs on the ASPCA commercials..."Please, press me and review!" (<em>In the Arms of the Angels...float away from here...)<em> "No one loves me...why did they abandon me? Why won't they review?" Okay, I'm done with my creepy commercial parody...thanks for reading;)**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	3. 3: The Knight Bus

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the lines that came directly from the book.**

**A/N: Awe, thanks for all of the positive feedback, guys! Here's Chapter Three - MAJOR WARNING, I'm like, totally in love with the Marauders (except Peter...he needed to die when Sirius tried to kill him. End of story.) So I'm sort of fluffy when I write about their friendship & reunions...The 'Moony Reunion' will be the chapter after the next one...I've already typed it out, and the reaction isn't as big as you'd probably expect, but I mean, wouldn't you be in kind of a shock if you spoke to your best friend who's been dead for twelve years? Moony's not one to 'freak out' much anyway, but his reaction will be a lot bigger in later chapters:) As for now, let's let our good friend James see what's become of his best friend:( And...ACTION!**

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><p><span>Chapter Three: The Knight Bus<span>

James stood there, frozen in shock.

It was a big black dog; of that James was positive. But fear was not what was stopping him from breathing. No, it was _familiarity_. James vaguely recognized the hairy animal, recognized the low, low growl...but it couldn't have been...could it?

"Sirius?" James whispered to himself, trying and failing to make out the details of the large dog. He'd seen Padfoot enough times to know him if he recognized him, but that was easier said than done in the pitch black of the night.

James crept forward a few paces, trying to see if he could take a good look at the dog without scaring it. But it was absolutely _hopeless_ to see a thing.

"_Lumos!_" James shouted, and instantly, his wand lit up. He aimed it at the alleyway in which the animal was concealed, but the moment it lit up, the animal vanished.

Sighing, James directed another command at his wand, and almost instantly, the deafening BANG was heard.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor for this evening."

James looked unenthusiastically at the large, triple-decker purple bus in front of him. He didn't recognize 'Stan' but he wondered if Ernie was still driving...James and Sirius had been on the Knight Bus twice before, to and from the Leaky Cauldron when James's mum had said they couldn't leave the house. Of course they'd disobeyed, and they were glad for it later; they'd _loved_ the Knight Bus!

"Woss your name?" Stan asked James, completely dropping the professionalism.

"James." James said quickly without thinking. He wanted to smack himself in the face; James Potter was supposed to be _dead_!

"'James' what?" Stan persisted.

"James..." C'mon, think Potter, think! "Er...James Black."

"And whereabouts are you headed, Jamie?" Stan asked, helping James aboard the Knight Bus.

"Er...the Leaky Cauldron. That's in London." James said, deciding to just wing it and go to Diagon Alley.

"Did ya hear that, Ern?" Stan asked the elderly bus driver.

"Leaky Cauldron. Got it." Ernie nodded intensely.

"Ern's still driving?" James laughed.

"'Course he is. You gonna sit, or not?" Stan said, showing James to the nearest bed. James sat down on it, and watched as Stan said over his shoulder, "Take 'er away, Ern."

Another BANG sounded, and the Knight Bus was off. Stan sat down in an arm chair next to Ernie, very near James. James didn't want to sleep; instead, he watched as Stan pulled out a copy of The Daily Prophet, and began to read.

"Who is that?" James asked, gesturing to the 'Black' on the front page who'd been on the Muggle News.

Stan smirked, and raised his eyebrows. "Surprised you don't know 'oo he is, Jamie. Shares your name, he does."

"His name is James?" James asked in disbelief.

"'Course not!" Stan snapped. "Black, o'course! Don't tell me you never been hearing of Sirius Black!"

"Sirius Black?" James repeated, refusing to believe that that poor man was his best mate.

"'Course Jamie, where you been?" Stan asked, almost annoyed. "You oughta read the papers more, Jamie."

Stan handed James the copy of The Daily Prophet, and James read the article on his best friend with keen interest.

_BLACK STILL AT LARGE_

_Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today._

_"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelious Fudge, this morning. "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."_

_Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis._

_"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it - who'd believe him if he did?"_

_While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse._

James sucked in a shocked breath; the page had told him so much.

1) Sirius escaped Azkaban.

2) Fudge is Minister of Magic. Stupid Porky _Fudge_!

3) Sirius was in Azkaban for twelve years. Twelve. His best mate was probably mad.

4) Sirius killed thirteen people with a single curse.

5) Sirius was arrested the same year that James and Lily had died.

Stan brought him back to reality with his statement of, "Scary-lookin' fink, 'inee?"

"He murdered thirteen people?" James asked in disbelief. "With one curse?"

"Yep." said Stan. "in front of witnesses an' all. Broad daylight. Big trouble it caused, dinnit, Ern?"

"Ar," said Ern darkly.

"Black woz a big supporter of You-Know-'Oo," Stan continued.

James's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "But I-" James stopped himself, and re-phrased. "I...mean my _dad_ was friends with Sirius Black, back when he was in school! Sirius wouldn't ever go to the Dark side!"

Stan shook his head. "Then your dad's mis'aken. He was You-Know-Oo's right hand man. When little 'Arry Potter got the better of You-Know-'Oo,"

James was very tempted to shout, 'What! My son defeated _Voldemort_? Who, what, huh?' But held his tongue; he had to blend in.

"all You-Know-'Oo's supporters were tracked down, wasn't they, Ern? Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-Know-'Oo gone, and they came quiet. But not Sirius Black. I 'eard he thought 'e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo 'ad taken over.

"Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of Muggles, an' Black took out 'is wand and 'e blasted 'alf the sreet apart, 'an a wizard got it, 'an so did a dozen Muggles what got in the way. 'Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?" Stan continued in a dramatic whisper.

James was sure he didn't want to know, and he was all ready white and shaking, but he asked, "What?"

"Laughed." said Stan. "Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when re-inforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, 'e went wiv 'em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'Cos 'e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?"

"If he weren't when he went to Azkaban, he will be now." said Ern in his slow voice. "I'd blow meself up before I set foot in that place. Serves him right, mind you...after what he did..."

James heard Stan and Ern continue to talk, but he couldn't hear a thing they said. It felt like his ears, Merlin, his whole _head_ was filling up with water. He couldn't think, he couldn't hear, he couldn't see...he was suffocating.

'And Sirius...' James thought. 'I know him. He's my best mate...the only reason he'd have to laugh, is if he was faced with a terrible loss. When his family kicked him out last Summer, and he came to stay with us, he kept laughing in between the crying. He told me it's cause he doesn't know what else to do when he's been so hurt. So something happened to Sirius that hurt him...hurt him bad, considering he killed _thirteen_ people...how could he do that? Padfoot?'

'I have to find him.' James thought, determined. 'I have to set things right, even if Sirius_ is_ mad.'

"'Ere you are, Jamie." Stan said, retrieving James's suitcase for him. "The Leaky Cauldron."

"Well," James said gloomily. "Bye, I s'pose."

But Stan wasn't paying attention. Still standing in the doorway to the bus he was goggling at the shadowy entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.

"There you are, Harry," said a voice.

'Busted!' James thought to himself.

But before James could turn, he felt a hand on his shoulder. At the same time, Stan shouted, "Blimey! Ern, come 'ere! Come 'ere!"

James looked up at the owner of the hand on his shoulder and nearly wet himself in the humor he was finding in the situation — he had walked right into the Minister of Magic, Cornelious Fudge!

Stan leapt onto the pavement beside them.

"What didja call James, Minister?" he said excitedly.

Fudge honestly looked confused.

"James?" he repeated, frowning. "This is_ Harry _Potter." Fudge emphasized the 'Harry' part.

"I knew it!" Stan shouted gleefully.

"Sure you did." James scoffed, rolling his eyes and slowly returning back to normal.

"Ern! Ern! Guess 'oo James is, Ern! 'E's 'Arry Potter!"

"Yes," said Fudge testily, "well, I'm very glad the Knight Bus picked Harry up, but he and I need to step inside the Leaky Cauldron now…"

Fudge increased the pressure on James's shoulder, and James found himself being steered inside the pub.

A stooping figure bearing a lantern appeared through the door behind the bar. It was Tom, the wizened, toothless landlord.

"You've got him, Minister!" said Tom. "Will you be wanting anything? Beer? Brandy?"

James was very tempted to ask for Firewhiskey to sort of feak out Fudge, but Fudge beat him to it.

"Perhaps a pot of tea," said Fudge; he still hadn't let go of James.

There was a loud scraping and puffing from behind them, and Stan and Ern appeared, carrying James's trunk and looking around excitedly.

"'Ow come you di'n't tell us 'oo you are, eh, Jamie?" said Stan, beaming at James, while Ernie's owlish face peered interestedly over Stan's shoulder.

"And a private parlour, please, Tom," said Fudge pointedly.

"Bye," James said miserably to Stan and Ern as Tom beckoned Fudge toward the passage that led from the bar.

"Bye, James!" called Stan.

Fudge marched James along the narrow passage after Tom's lantern, and then into a small parlour. Tom clicked his fingers, a fire burst into life in the grate, and he bowed himself out of the room.

"Sit down, Harry," said Fudge, indicating a chair by the fire.

James sat down, feeling goose bumps rising up his arms despite the glow of the fire. Fudge took off his pinstriped cloak and tossed it aside, then hitched up the trousers of his bottle-green suit and sat down opposite James.

"I am Cornelius Fudge, Harry. The Minister of Magic."

'I know who you are, you moron.' James thought to himself, laughing. 'I went to Hogwarts with you...you were a few years ahead of me, weren't you? Oh, yeah...Sirius dyed all of your clothes pink after you called him an idiot; _now_ I remember!'

Tom the innkeeper reappeared, wearing an apron over his nightshirt and bearing a tray of tea and crumpets. He placed the tray on a table between Fudge and James and left the parlour, closing the door behind him.

"Well, Harry," said Fudge, pouring out tea, "you've had us all in a right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that! I'd started to think… but you're safe, and that's what matters."

Fudge buttered himself a crumpet and pushed the plate toward James.

"Eat, Harry, you look dead on your feet. Now then… You will be pleased to hear that we have dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Miss Marjorie Dursley-"

'Unfortunate?' James thought incredulously.

"-Two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department were dispatched to Privet Drive a few hours ago. Miss Dursley has been punctured and her memory has been modified. She has no recollection of the incident at all. So that's that, and no harm done."

"Aw." James muttered; he would have loved to have kept the horrible woman like that forever.

Fudge smiled at James over the rim of his teacup, rather like an uncle surveying a favourite nephew. James had a question he (sadly) truly wanted to ask Fudge, but he didn't know how to phrase it, so he closed his mouth again.

"Ah, you're worrying about the reaction of your aunt and uncle?" said Fudge. "Well, I won't deny that they are extremely angry, Harry, but they are prepared to take you back next summer as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays."

James unstuck his throat.

"That wasn't what I was worried about, _Minister_." James said, trying to supress laughter. "That woman was awful; she deserved what she got, and I couldn't care _less_ about the Dursley's...I'm more wanting to know about what's going on with this 'Sirius Black' fellow."

Fudge looked dumbstruck.

"How much do you know about Sirius Black, Harry?" Fudge asked, beginning to sweat.

"Enough." James shrugged. "I more want to know why in the world he killed all those people."

Fudge hesitated before answering, "Who knows why mad people do mad things, Harry? The important thing is that we're going to catch Black, and the Dementors will perform the Kiss, and everything will be fine. You don't need to worry, Harry; as long as you stay where you're s'posed to and don't go looking for trouble, you'll be completely safe."

James opened his mouth to argue, but Fudge continued.

"So all that remains," said Fudge, now buttering himself a second crumpet, "is to decide where you're going to spend the last two weeks of your vacation. I suggest you take a room here at the Leaky Cauldron and...well, I do believe that's it. Tom's got your things and owl set up in Room 11...why don't you head there, now? You look exhausted."

In truth, James _was_ tired, but he knew he'd never fall asleep; not with the knowledge of his and his friends' futures hanging over his head.

Still, he followed Tom to his room, and crawled into bed. As anticipated, he did not go to sleep; instead, he thought about the other Marauders; if Sirius had been in Azkaban and James was dead...then what of Moony and Wormtail?

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><p><strong>What did you thiiiink? I LOVED writing Stan's words for some reason...it was just so fun;) Next chapter, we'll introduce Ron &amp; Hermione &amp; the Weasleys:) Oh, and I know that 'James' (or rather, the REAL Harry) spent like a week in Diagon Alley before the Weasleys and them showed up, but I only made it a day...I didn't want to drag things on, ya know? Especially not when all James would do is walk around a place he's seen a hundred times...so yes! Pretty please review and I will post the next chapter ASAP!:)<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


	4. 4: The Leaky Cauldron

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the lines that came directly from the book.**

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! I might not be able to update again for a few days, so I hope this chapter will satisfy you until then...who knows, maybe I'll just kind of squeeze in the chapter with Remus before I go those few days...even so, thank you so much for all of the positive feedback...it truly makes my day:) Now, for some advertising: I've just uploaded a new one-shot called "The Final Day: A Marauders Tribute". It goes through the Marauders & Lily's last day at Hogwarts...if I do say so myself, it's one of my better one-shots and the longest one by far, so if you get a chance, check it out! You won't be disappointed:)**

**Now, here's chapter 4!**

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><p><span>Chapter Four: The Leaky Cauldron<span>

Fudge informed James that he wasn't allowed to leave the Leaky Cauldron/Diagon Alley area.

Truthfully, James didn't mind not leaving; he'd been to all of the places before...in fact, he mostly just wanted to stay in his room. He was rather upset about the future, and wanted to sulk about instead of playing around in Flourish and Blotts for five hours.

Instead, James took to the fact that he had no Trace. He could perform magic without anyone even knowing about it; he didn't exist in this time, so there was nothing to notify anyone. James was also mulling over the fact that Fudge had taken the liberty of purchasing Harry's school books for him, so there wasn't really anything to buy. The only thing James had to worry about was new robes, and a simple, "_Accio!_" spell took care of that.

With the school 'shopping' done, James didn't have much else to do. So he sat down in a chair in the corner of the room, and began to write a letter.

It was long and detailed, and it was to Sirius. James had been planning on giving it to Hedwig to give to Sirius, but he thought better of it; the letter explained James's current situation in detail, and James wasn't sure if he wanted Sirius to know everything...or even if he did, to find out by letter? Harsh. So instead, James wrote a single word on a tiny notecard, gave it to Hedwig to give to Sirius, and watched as she flew out the window.

The message was simple, and James prayed that Padfoot would answer it.

The message was this: 'Why?'

When Hedwig still wasn't back fourty-five minutes later, James decided to go to Diagon Alley; he couldn't just wait around all day for something interesting to happen. He walked around quite a bit, and saw no one that he recognized. He spent quite a great deal of time in 'Quality Quidditch Supplies'. That led James to want to know many things about his son.

How did Harry find out he was a wizard?

What house is Harry in?

Does Harry play Quidditch?

Who are Harry's favorite teachers?

What are Harry's favorite subjects?

Does Harry have a girlfriend?

Is Harry a good...naw, I don't care if he's a good student, s'long as he has fun.

Is Harry a good _prankster_? Now_ there_ was a good question.

Sighing, James left 'Quality Quidditch Supplies'. He was just debating where he'd have lunch... That's when he heard someone shouting behind him,

"Harry! HARRY!"

James turned around, and saw two young Gryffindors coming out of Florean Florescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He recognized both of them from the picture in Harry's room - Ron and Hermione.

James walked over to them - trying to look happy to see who were supposed to be 'his' friends - and Ron said,

"Finally!" Ron, James, and Hermione all sat down, as Ron continued, "We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts, and Madame Malkin's, and-"

"Already got my school stuff." James said, trying to manage a grin. He was still in an unhappy mood about the future, but he was usually pretty good at acting like things were okay when they weren't, and he hoped that his performance would suffice.

"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" Hermione asked, in a very Lily/Moony/Prefect tone.

"Yeah." James grinned, laughing. "You should've seen the look on the Durseley's faces!"

Ron roared with laughter, and - like Lily and Moony - Hermione had to ruin the fun.

"It's not funny, Ron." Hermione said sharply. "Honestly, I'm amazed that Harry wasn't expelled."

"So am I, but hey, let's look on the bright side; I'll be joining you for another wonderful year at Hogwarts." James smiled.

"And the rest of the day, too!" Ron said excitedly. "We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron, too! So's Hermione, for that matter. Dad said that the Ministry was giving us cars tomorrow morning to take to King's Cross - we can all get on the train together!"

"What are cars?" James asked stupidly, forgetting that Harry was supposed to have been raised by Muggles.

"Har, har,_ funny_ Harry." Hermione said, rolling her eyes (Just like Lily or Remus would have - is she somehow related to them?)

"What are all those for?" James asked Hermione, gesturing to the many books she had in not one, but two bags.

"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?" said Hermione. "Those are my books for Arithmacy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies-"

"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" said Ron, rolling his eyes at James. "You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!"

'If she's anything like Lily,' James thought. 'Then she'll answer Ron's question the same way that Lily answered Sirius's-'

"But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view," said Hermione earnestly.

'...' James thought. 'Wow, um...just like Lily...uncanny, really. Is this just Lily in disguise? Wouldn't surprise me...much, anyways...'

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Li-Hermione?" James asked, mimicking the same question he'd asked Lily two years before.

"I've still got ten galleons," Hermione said thoughtfully. "It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."

"How about a nice _book_?" Ron said, just like Sirius would have.

"No, I don't think so." Hermione said, not seeming to catch onto the insult. "I really want an owl. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig, and you've got Errol-"

"I haven't-" said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers, and I want to get him checked over. I don't think Egypt agreed with him."

"Why don't you two go on over to the magical creature shop over there?" James recomended, pointing to the store down the street. "I'll meet you back at the Leaky Cauldron," he said. "I've got to check something." he added hastily.

After Ron and Hermione said that was fine, James raced back into Room 11 at the Leaky Cauldron. Hedwig was there, and she carried a note in her talons.

"Is that for me?" James asked the owl softly, removing the letter from the owl. Hedwig nipped his finger affectionately, and James unruffled the dirty note.

_'Why?'_

That was all the note said.

"Hey-" James said to Hedwig. "This is the note that _I_ wrote _him_! What, you couldn't find him?"

Of course the owl didn't answer, but James knew that that was what must have happened.

"Ah, well." James told the owl. "You tried. I'm sure I'll reach him eventually...I'm not leaving this time until I do."

'Like I'd know how to, anyway.'

* * *

><p>Dinner that night was very enjoyable.<p>

James joined the entire Weasley family (Yes! Arthur _had_ married Molly!) and Hermione for dinner in the Leaky Cauldron. While James had a certain soft spot for Ron and Hermione - who reminded him of his own friends, Sirius and Remus - he found himself enjoying Fred and George's company even more. They reminded him so much of the Marauders, and James - despite himself - was feeling homesick.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" Fred asked Arthur, taking a big bite of his dinner.

"The Ministry's providing us a couple cars." Arthur said happily.

"Why?" asked Percy curiously.

"It's because of you, Perce." George said seriously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-"

"-for Humungous Bighead," said Fred.

Everyone except Percy and Molly snorted into their pudding.

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, father?" Percy asked in a dignified tone, which made James, Fred, and George laugh even harder.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," said Arthur. "-and as I work there, they're doing me a favor-"

"Good thing, too." Molly said briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground...you are all packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," said Percy, in a long-suffering voice. "He's dumped them on my bed."

'Git.' James thought, laughing to himself.

"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mrs. Weasley called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy.

After dinner everyone felt very full and sleepy. One by one they made their way upstairs to their rooms to check their things for the next day. Ron and Percy were next door to James.

He had just closed and locked his own trunk when he heard angry voices through the wall, and went to see what was going on.

The door of number twelve was ajar and Percy was shouting.

"It was here, on the bedside table, I took it off for polishing —"

"I haven't touched it, all right?" Ron roared back.

"What's up?" said James, popping a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean into his mouth. Yum..._vomit._

"My Head Boy badge is gone," said Percy, rounding on James. "I took it off for polishing, and now it's gone."

'..He polishes his badge?' James thought, looking at Percy as though he was mad.

"So's Scabbers's Rat Tonic," said Ron, throwing things out of his trunk to look. "I think I might've left it in the bar —"

"You're not going anywhere till you've found my badge!" yelled Percy.

"I'll get Scabbers's stuff, I'm packed," James said to Ron, and he went downstairs grinning.

James was halfway along the passage to the bar, which was now very dark, when he heard another pair of angry voices coming from the parlour. A second later, he recognized them as Molly and Arthur's. He hesitated, not wanting them to know he'd heard them arguing, when the sound of his son's name made him stop, then move closer to the parlour door.

"… makes no sense not to tell him," Arthur was saying heatedly. "Harry's got a right to know. I've tried to tell Fudge, but he insists on treating Harry like a child. He's thirteen years old and —"

"Arthur, the truth would terrify him!" said Molly shrilly. "Do you really want to send Harry back to school with that hanging over him? For heaven's sake, he's happy not knowing!"

"I don't want to make him miserable, I want to put him on his guard!" retorted Arthur. "You know what Harry and Ron are like, wandering off by themselves — they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest twice!"

'Wow...twice? Sirius and I have only tried that _once_...after I almost got eaten by that centaur, I had no desire to go back. 'Course Moony told me that the centaur wasn't actually going to _eat_ me, but what does he know? He wasn't the one who almost became souffle!' James thought, laughing at the memory.

"But Harry mustn't do that this year!" Arthur continued. "When I think what could have happened to him that night he ran away from home! If the Knight Bus hadn't picked him up, I'm prepared to bet he would have been dead before the Ministry found him."

'Eh...alright, why?' James thought.

"But he's not dead, he's fine, so what's the point —"

"Molly, they say Sirius Black's mad,"

'Oh, no...' James thought, wincing at the name of Sirius.

"...and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible. It's been three weeks, and no one's seen hide nor hair of him,"

'Now, I'm not sure about _that_...' James thought. 'They might've seen 'hair' of him...if they've seen Padfoot, they've seen Sirius.'

"-and I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily Prophet, we're no nearer catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands."

'Oh, that'd be so cool!'

"-The only thing we know for sure is what Black's after —"

"But Harry will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts."

'HARRY? SIRIUS IS AFTER _HARRY_? WHAT-?'

"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts."

"But no one's really sure that Black's after Harry —"

There was a thud on wood, and James was sure Arthur had banged his fist on the table. Huh. Arthur had never been one to be short-tempered - that was usually reserved for Sirius.

"Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Blacks been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: 'He's at Hogwarts… he's at Hogwarts.' Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he's had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that…"

There was a silence. James leaned still closer to the door, desperate to hear more. He couldn't believe what had become of his best mate.

"Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you're forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt Harry at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's Headmaster. I suppose he knows about all this?"

"Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed."

"Not happy? Why shouldn't he be happy, if they're there to catch Black?"

"Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards," said Arthur heavily. "Nor am I, if it comes to that… but when you're dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you'd rather avoid."

"But if they save Harry..."

"If they save Harry then I will never say another word against them," said Arthur wearily. "It's late, Molly, we'd better go up…"

James heard chairs move. As quietly as he could, he hurried down the passage to the bar and out of sight. The parlour door opened, and a few seconds later footsteps told him that Arthur and Molly were climbing the stairs.

The bottle of rat tonic was lying under the table they had sat at earlier. James waited until he heard Arthur and Molly's bedroom door close, then headed back upstairs with the bottle.

Fred and George were crouching in the shadows on the landing, heaving with laughter as they listened to Percy dismantling his and Ron's room in search of his badge.

"What did you two do?" James asked, unable to help himself.

"We've got it," Fred whispered excitedly. "We've been improving it."

The badge now read Bighead Boy.

"How'd you do that?" James whispered.

"Simple charm, my dear fellow." George smirked.

"Much better now, don't you agree?" Fred asked.

James laughed; he couldn't help it, no matter how upset he was about Sirius going after Harry. Despite everything, Fred and George reminded him _so_ much of him and Sirius, that it was hard _not_ to laugh. "Definitely." he said.

James left the twins to their dirty work, went to give Ron the rat tonic, then shut himself in his room and lay down on his bed.

Dementors at Hogwarts. Very stressed out wizards. Harry in danger. All of this was because of his best mate, Sirius Black.

"Sirius, mate..." James whispered into the darkness, letting a few tears leak. "How could you do this?"

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><p><strong>Wow...that was a lot for James to learn! Lol:) In one review, someone said they'd like to see longer chapters, and I'm all for that, I'm just going directly with the book, only leaving some parts out, and I don't want to add <em>too<em> much, but I'll see what I can do:) I hope you enjoyed this! If I get five more reviews, ya'll can have the "Moony Reunion" chapter much more quickly:) Thanks for sticking with this!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	5. 5: The Dementor

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP (sadly.)**

**A/N: Weird morning! On the way to school, my bus driver nearly hit a stag (and I freaked out! lol) and we saw, like, thirty deer. Then, when we were passing through the neighborhood, I saw a woman playing with a large black dog in her yard. Then - I kid you not - I saw a dead rat on the side of the road(: Oh, and for some question-answering; I plan to go through the entire Prisoner of Azkaban book. Right now it might just seem like a bunch of stuff that you've already read, but James needs to find everything out. The REAL plot should begin actually in this chapter:) Oh, and as for Harry's location: I was going to leave that as a mega mystery, but he's back in James's time. I might do a spin-off of Harry's time there, but I'm not sure yet:) Okay, here's Chapter Five: MOONY!**

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><p><span>Chapter Five: The Dementor<span>

"Harry," said Arthur quietly, "come over here for a moment."

They were on Platform 9 and 3/4, and James had a hunch on why Arthur wanted to speak to him.

Arthur jerked his head towards a pillar, and James followed him behind it, leaving the others crowded around Molly.

"There's something I've got to tell you before you leave —" said Arthur in a tense voice.

"S'alright, er, _Mr. Weasley._" said James. "I already know."

"You know? How could you know?"

"I — er — I heard you and _Mrs. Weasley_ talking last night. I couldn't help hearing," James said boldly.

"That's not the way I'd have chosen for you to find out," said Arthur said looking anxious.

"What would have been a better way?" James asked earnestly. In his mind, he thought, 'What would have been a better way for me to find out that my best mate is a murderer who's after my only child? Write it on a note and attatch it to a box of chocolates?'

"Harry, you must be scared — "

"I'm not," said James sincerely. James was a lot of things at the moment: Angry, hurt, and shocked being only a few. But _scared_? Of _Sirius_? Never.

"Really," he added, because Arthur was looking disbelieving. "I'm not trying to be a hero, but seriously, Sirius can't be worse than, shall we say, Voldemort, can he?"

Arthur flinched at the sound of the name, but overlooked it.

"Harry, I knew you were, well, made of stronger stuff than Fudge seems to think, and I'm obviously pleased that you're not scared, but —"

"Arthur!" called Molly, who was now shepherding the rest onto the train. "Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!"

"He's coming Molly!" said Arthur, but he turned back to James and kept talking in a lower and more hurried voice, "Listen, I want you to give me your word —"

" — that I'll be a good boy and stay in the castle?" said James sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Not entirely," said Mr. Weasley, who looked more serious than Harry had ever seen him. "Harry, swear to me you won't go looking for Black."

James didn't answer. He _couldn't_ answer. Arthur had never done anything bad to him; James didn't want to lie to his face. James had every intention of finding Sirius, and _no one_ was going to stop him.

There was a loud whistle. Guards were walking along the train, slamming all the doors shut.

"Promise me, Harry," said Arthur, talking more quickly still, "that whatever happens...Swear to me that whatever you might hear —"

"Arthur, quickly!" cried Molly.

Steam was billowing from the train it had started to move. James ran to the compartment door and Ron threw it open and stood back to let him on. They leaned out of the window and waved at Molly and Arthur until the train turned a corner and blocked them from view.

"I need to talk to you in private," James muttered to Ron and Hermione as the train picked up speed. He had decided nearly an hour before to tell them who he really was; they'd be the two people most likely to figure it out anyway, and he'd need pointers on how to act like Harry if he was going to get through an undetermined amount of time as him.

"Go away, Ginny," said Ron.

"Oh, that's nice," said Ginny huffily, and she stalked off.

James, Ron, and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train.

This had only one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window. James, Ron, and Hermione checked on the threshold. The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students and they had never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who pushed the food cart.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron hissed as they sat down and slid the door shut, taking the seats farthest away from the window.

"Professor R. J. Lupin." whispered Hermione at once.

"How'd you know that?"

"It's on his case," she replied, pointing at the luggage rack over the man's head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name Professor R. J. Lupin was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

"Moony!" James yelled, forgetting momentarily that he wasn't supposed to know this man. But James was too overwhelmed to care at the moment; Moony was alive! Another Marauder was with him! He wasn't alone!

Hermione and Ron looked at James curiously, and Hermione asked, "You know him?"

"Of course!" James beamed, grinning. "It's Moony!"

"I'm guessing this has something to do with what you want to tell us?" Ron guessed.

"Er...yeah." James said, taking a seat close to Moony. Ron and Hermione sat opposite the two Marauders, and James began.

"I'm...well, I'm not who you think I am." he stated roughly, messing up his hair.

"I'm gathering that." Hermione said.

"Well, if you're not Harry..." Ron began, confused. "Then who are you?"

"Well...my name's James. Nice to meet you, too." James laughed.

"James?" Hermione asked incredulously. "James _Potter_? But - but that's impossible! James Potter is-"

"Dead." James shrugged, trying not to cry at the mention of his death. "So I've heard."

"Then how are you _here_?" Ron asked.

"Dunno." James shrugged. "Just woke up one morning at the Dursley's. And let me tell you - Vernon Dursley is _not _a pleasant sight to wake up to."

"Well...where's Harry, then?" Hermione asked, finding herself missing her best friend.

"Again, not really sure." James said. "I reckon he'd probably be in my time, being as I'm in his."

"Well...how do you plan on getting back?" Ron asked.

"I don't know." James admitted. "But I'm not going _anywhere_ until I talk to Sirius."

"Sirius?" Hermione gaped. "Sirius _Black_? But Harry! Er, sorry, James! He's a Dark Wizard!"

"Again, so I've heard." James said. "But at one point, he was my best mate, and I'm _going_ to find out what happened to him."

"Is there no chance of talking you out of this mate?" Ron asked. "I don't reckon Harry'd forgive us too easily if we let anything happen to his dad."

James laughed. "No, there's no chance of talking me out of it; my mind's made-"

"Anything from the trolley? Anything from the trolley?"

James, Hermione, and Ron looked out their compartment door at the witch with the trolley of sweets. She passed by their door and asked, "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

"D'you think we should wake him up?" Ron asked awkwardly, nodding towards Professor Lupin. "He looks like he could do with some food."

"Nah, don't worry about it." James said. "If he's asleep why I _think_ he's asleep, then there's _no_ chance of him waking up anytime soon. But I _know_ Moony;" James looked up to the witch pushing the trolley and said, "Three dozen chocolate frogs, please?"

"Three _dozen_?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Well they're not _all_ for him." James laughed. "But Remus is a serious chocoholic; trust be, he'll be glad I bought them."

* * *

><p>Before James, Ron, and Hermione knew it, mid-afternoon afternoon rolled around. Just as it had started to rain, blurring the rolling hills outside the window, they heard footsteps outside in the corridor again, and their three least favorite people appeared at the door: Draco Malfoy, flanked by his cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.<p>

Crabbe and Goyle seemed to exist to do Malfoy's bidding. They were both wide and muscley; Crabbe was taller, with a pudding-bowl haircut and a very thick neck; Goyle had short, bristly hair and long, gorilla arms.

"Well, look who it is," said Malfoy in his usual lazy drawl, pulling open the compartment door. "Potty and the Weasel."

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly.

"_Malfoy_?" James asked incredulously, obviously mistaking Draco for Lucius. "What are _you_ doing here?"

But Draco completely ignored James, and instead, directed his sneers at Ron. "I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley," he said. "Did your mother die of shock?"

Ron and James stood up so quickly he knocked Crookshanks's basket to the floor.

James aimed his wand at Malfoy's throat and hissed, "Leave. _Now_."

"Oh, I'm so bloody _scared_, Potter." Malfoy sneered.

"You should be." Ron said, aiming his wand in a similar teacher.

That's when Malfoy's gaze found Lupin, and he asked, "Who's that?"

"New teacher," said Hermione, who got to her feet, too, in case she needed to hold the boys back. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't fool enough to pick a fight right under a teacher's nose.

"C'mon," he muttered resentfully to Crabbe and Goyle, and they disappeared.

"What's _Lucius_ doing here?" James huffed as the three took their seats again.

Ron laughed. "That's not Lucius, mate."

"Then who-"

"It's his son." Hermione explained. "Draco. He and Harry...well, they don't really get along."

"Blimme Hermione, understatement of the century." Ron said, rolling his eyes. James rolled his as well.

"Well, he's just like his bloody father, let me tell you." James said.

* * *

><p>The rain thickened as the train sped yet farther north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering gray, which gradually darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, the wind roared, but still, Professor Lupin slept.<p>

"We must be nearly there," said Ron, leaning forward to look past Professor Lupin at the now completely black window.

The words had hardly left him when the train started to slow down.

"Great," said Ron, getting up and walking carefully past Professor Lupin to try and see outside. "I'm starving. I want to get to the feast…"

"We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch.

"So why're we stopping?"

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.

James, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments.

The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind James.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

James tried to feel his way back to his seat, but ended up slipping on the carpet. He fell to the floor with a _thud_.

"OUCH!" he complained loudly, as Ron and Hermione continued speculating as to why on earth the train had stopped.

"D'you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno…"

There was a squeaking sound, and James saw the dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard…"

The compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell painfully over James's legs.

"Sorry! D'you know what's going on? Ouch! Sorry —"

"Watch where you're going!" James complained loudly, rubbing his knee where someone had just painfully stepped on it.

"Harry? Is that you? What's happening?"

"No idea! Sit down —"

There was a loud hissing and a yelp of pain; Neville had tried to sit on Crookshanks.

"I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on," came Hermione's voice. James felt her pass him, heard the door slide open again, and then a thud and two loud squeals of pain.

"Who's that?"

"Who's that?"

"Ginny?"

"Hermione?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was looking for Ron —"

"Come in and sit down —"

James felt someone _else_ trip over him, and he yelled, "Not _here_! _I'm_ here! Watch it!"

"Ouch!" said Neville.

"Quiet!" said a hoarse voice suddenly.

Professor Lupin appeared to have woken up at last.

"Awe, c'mon Moony!" James said, so overjoyed at hearing his friend that he was acting completely like James. "Can't you see that there's a bit of a panic at the moment, mate?"

"Who's there?" Lupin asked, trying to see who'd called him by his old nickname. But in the darkness, it was nearly impossible to see a thing, so he sighed, letting it go for the moment.

Suddenly, there was a soft, crackling noise, and a shivering light filled the compartment. Professor Lupin appeared to be holding a handful of flames.

They illuminated his tired, gray face, but his eyes looked alert and wary.

"Stay where you are." he said in the same hoarse voice, and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.

But the door slid slowly open before Lupin could reach it.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. James's eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water…

But it was visible only for a split second. As though the creature beneath the cloak sensed James's gaze, the hand was suddenly withdrawn into the folds of its black cloak.

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.

An intense cold swept over them all. James felt his own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was inside his very heart…

James's eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn't see. He was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downward, the roaring growing louder…

And then, he mustered all of the strength that he could, aimed his wand at the Dementor, and screeched, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

Instantly, a silver stag emitted itself from James's wand. It hurled itself at the Dementor, and chased it completely off of the train. James barely registered the lights flicking on, and Neville taking Ginny to her older brothers because she was very upset. James was feeling quite dizzy, but also quite accomplished; that had been the very first time that he'd successfully produced the Patronus Charm. But he couldn't focus on that at the moment. His vision was getting blurry, he was creeping into darkness...

"Mate! Mate! Are you all right?"

Someone was slapping his face.

"W-what?"

James opened his eyes; there were lanterns above him, and the floor was shaking — the Hogwarts Express was moving again and the lights had come back on.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked nervously.

"Yeah," said James, looking quickly toward the door. "Is it gone?"

"Yeah; you sure took care of it." Ron said, obviously impressed.

"What spell _was_ that?" Hermione gaped, staring at James incredulously. "It chased that thing away!"

"It was a Patronus." Lupin explained, and James jumped in his seat; he'd completely forgotten about Moony!

"A what?" Hermione asked.

"A Patronus." James said. "It's a sort of positive energy, I guess. It drives Dementors away, or at _least_ that's what Professor Flitwick told us last term; that was personally the first chance I've had to actually see if it worked."

"Harry?" Lupin asked, staring at James intently. "You _are_ Harry, aren't you? Lily and James's boy? Blimme, you look _so _like your father..."

James couldn't help but laugh at his friend. "Now Moony...don't I look a bit _too_ much like him?"

"Excuse me?" Lupin asked, staring at James even more intently.

"I'm _not_ Harry." James explained. "And personally, Remmy, I'm a bit hurt that you don't recognize me...surely I'm not _that _forgetable? And I'd thought we'd established that _Wormtail_ was the forgetful one."

"J-James?" Remus stuttered out.

"Hello mate." James grinned.

"But-but-that's impossible! This is impossible!" Remus insisted, trying to diminish the flames of hope that were burning inside him.

"They also said that it was _impossible_ to become Animagi at only fifteen." James laughed. "They said it was _impossible_ to create a full proof map of Hogwarts. They said it was _impossible_ to recieve more than thirty detentions in a month. And everyone told me that it was impossible that Evans would ever say yes...but you know, I don't really think that the _impossible_ applies to us, Moony."

"James?" Remus asked again. "Prongs?"

"Moony!" James yelled, hurling himself at his friend. "Blimme mate, I've missed you!"

"But how are you _here_?" Remus asked. "How are you back?"

"Dunno how I'm here." James admitted. "But I'm not really _back_ from anything...time travel Moony...I'm only fifteen."

"It doesn't matter." Remus assured his friend. "It's still bloody good to see you, mate."

"Good to see you too, Remmy." James smirked. "We'll have to talk later, you and I. You'll need to tell me everything I've missed."

"Er...mate." Remus said. "Not sure that's such a good idea...surely you'll have to go back to...to your own time at some point, and if you go back knowing too much, the future could change."

"But Moony," James complained. "_Don't_ things need changed? I mean, Lily and I are dead and...well, I know we always _said _that Padfoot would end up in jail, but a murderer? Sirius? This future _definitely_ needs changing, Moony."

"Perhaps." Remus said, trying not to set his hopes _too_ high. "Maybe after we've consulted with Dumbledore, we could-"

"Oh, Dumbledore-Shumbledore!" James whined. "Same old Moony, I see."

Remus couldn't help but laugh. "And same old James."

James smiled, and so did Remus; James's smile was from pure joy, but Remus's smile was mostly to hide the tear that was leaking from his eye.

* * *

><p>At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.<p>

"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice

* * *

><p><strong>Was it okaaaaay? I promise, there'll be more Jamesies reunions in the chappies to come! And more adventures, ones that Harry never would have dared...Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest, anyone? Lol:) I was sooo upset, because the other version of this chapter got deleted from my computer, and I liked <em>that<em> one much better...but I hope this wasn't too terribly bad:) Hopefully, in the next chapter, we'll start losing more and more lines from the book and filling in the spaces with James's own plot:) Okay, review!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	6. 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP (sadly.)**

**A/N: Okay, so it was pointed out to me in a review that this story is just like the book, just with James's name instead of Harry's...all I can say is that I'm sorry:( I know it seemed like that in the first five chapters, but THIS is where it sort of detatches itself from the book...and I mean if you think about it, it makes sense; James had to find out a lot of info before he got to Hogwarts, and I figured just sticking him in Harry's place for some of the most important chapters seemed like the best way. Now that he has a general idea of what on earth is going on in the world, the plot should seem much more original...again, I'm sorry if it's been boring or unenjoyable, but for everyone who has stuck with me - here's the good part! Thanks for all the support from everyone, and here's Chapter Six!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Six: Talons and Tea Leaves<span>

James was back at Hogwarts, and he didn't feel as happy as he thought he would.

At the moment, James was lurking about the Hogwarts grounds. He had to do so as Prongs, because there were bloody Dementors _everywhere_. It was right hard just getting out of the Castle at _all_, but with James being a Marauder and all, it was manageable.

James's goal: To find Sirius and find out what in Merlin's name happened to him.

He knew that it was less than likely that Sirius would be here _now_, but he had to try; he'd feel utterly useless if he didn't.

James was still stuffed from the feast, and all that food was giving him great energy now, when he most definitely needed it. He knew that he'd probably be up half the night searching for Sirius, and he couldn't let himself give in when he was only twenty minutes into his searching.

While James searched, he thought of the feast, and what an interesting event it had been. Dumbledore had been his usual self, although easily upset by the presence of the Dementors, and Malfoy had been acting like a complete arse. But James found himself truly enjoying Ron and Hermione's company, as well as Fred and George's, and knew that he could survive in Harry's time.

One of the things that shocked James the most was the fact that no one seemed to be spotting the small differences between himself and Harry; sure, they obviously had an uncannily resemblence, but there were _some_ differences! The eyes for example; those were definitely _not_ James's eyes, they were Lily's. This was one of the first things Hermione noticed as they entered the Great Hall, so she changed the color of James's eyes with her wand as soon as they'd been seated. The other major thing was the scar; the Weasley Twins had been able to help with that one. They apparently truly _were_ like Junior Marauders, and they specialized in fake Magical ailments; so of _course_ they had something that could make it look like James had a scar on his forhead.

James honestly admitted to himself that he'd felt a bit better once he looked more like Harry; he truly didn't want to be found out. He knew he'd be bombarded with questions and interviews, and that was the _last_ thing James felt like doing; it would also result in less time to spend with Moony, and less time to spend looking for Sirius.

Sighing, James turned left at Hagrid's Hut, and stared nervously at the Forbidden Forest. He knew he'd have to search it eventually for his best mate, but he didn't feel quite like doing that at the moment. In fact, he _was_ starting to get a bit sleepy...he'd been out for nearly four hours...

Wishing that there was more that he could do but knowing that there wasn't, James galloped back to the castle and transformed back into himself. He opened the front doors, and stepped inside, _wishing_ that he hadn't so stupidly left his Invisibilty Cloak in the dormitory when he'd left (Who knew that _Harry_ had inherited it!).

Praying silently that he wouldn't get caught, James crept stealthily towards where he knew the staircases would be. He was very nearly there when -

"Ah. Mr. Potter...out for a little midnight stroll, were we?"

James almost couldn't hold back the laughter; he _knew_ that voice! And of _all_ the stupid people who could've caught him...!

James turned around to face Snape, and put on an innocent expression. He said, "Oh? What? Where am I? Proffesor? My, I suppose I must have been sleep walking or something..."

Snape rolled his eyes, and glared at James. "You were sleep walking...whilst holding your wand?"

James looked down at his wand, and shrugged. "S'ppose I was...my, will wonders never cease, look at the time! I should be going to bed, Professor."

"Not so fast, _Potter_." Snape said, stopping James from moving by sticking his arm out in front of him.

"What is it, _Professor_?" James sneered a bit at Snape's title, but otherwise, his act was flawless...well, except for the fact that Harry would have probably _never_ been quite so polite to Snape.

"You never answered me; what are you doing strutting about the corriders after hours?" Snape drawled menacingly.

"But Professor, I told you; I must have been sleep walking. _And I don't strut!_"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor." Snape growled. "And a week's detention for you, _Potter_."

James suddenly wished very much that he wasn't pretending to be Harry; he wanted to hex Snape _so_ badly at the moment...the urge was difficult to control.

"Fine." James grumbled. He walked a few feet in front of Snape before mumbling, "Snivelly."

"What was that, _POTTER_?" Snape screeched.

James whirled around innocently, plastered a smile on his face, and said, "Why _nothing_, Professor. Nothing at all. "

_I wish I had our bloody map!_ Was the last thing James thought before reaching the Fat Lady and getting some well-deserved sleep.

* * *

><p>"Blimme mate; what happened to you? You look terrible." Ron commented as James sat between him and Hermione the next morning at breakfast.<p>

"Thanks for that, Ron." James said, rolling his eyes. "That's just the confidence boost I needed to get me through the day."

"Sorry." Ron mumbled; he still wasn't used to _not_ having Harry around; Harry wouldn't have had some smart allic comment; he would have told Ron what was the matter. As much as they looked alike, James and Harry were two very different people.

"No, Harry, really; what's the matter?" Hermione asked. All three of them had agreed previously to call James 'Harry' in public so as to avoid any unneccessary attention.

"I was just out a bit late last night." James mumbled, using his fork to pick at the egg on his plate.

"Would that explain why our House Point count is at -20 this morning?" Ron laughed, taking a long sip of Pumpkin Juice.

James actually managaed a smile, "That was Snape's fault; he was unneccessarily harsh on me, a poor, innocent student."

Hermione laughed, "I suppose we forgot to mention...Snape doesn't like Harry much. At all."

James smiled. "As true as I'm quite sure that is, I have a rivalry with Snape that could never be matched, not _even_ by my own son...you see, I went to school with Snivelly Snape, and we...er, well _he_...we didn't get along. Let's just leave it at that."

"That would definitely explain why he hates Harry so much." Ron said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, I'm sure there's other reasons for that..." James said, his thoughts trailing to Lily. "Quite sure, in fact."

Hermione and Ron looked curious, but didn't press the subject.

"Oh, no!" Hermione said, looking to her watch.

"What? What is it? Is someone dying?" Ron asked, scared out of his wits.

"No, we're going to be late for Divination! It's in the North Tower, so it'll at _least_ take ten minutes to get there!"

Ron and Hermione stood up quickly in a fluster, but James just continued sitting, sipping some water.

"Well?" Ron asked. "Aren't you coming?"

"No. I'll leave in a few minutes." James shrugged.

"But Harry, you'll be-" Hermione began, but James cut her off.

"I won't be. If you'd like to say, I guarantee you that I can get us to Divination in two minutes or less." James promised.

"How?" Ron asked.

James smiled. "There are ways."

* * *

><p>"Welcome! How nice it is to see you all in the physical world at last!"<p>

"Oh Merlin." James sighed, taking his seat next to Ron and Hermione.

"What?" Ron asked.

"She's a nutter!" James hissed. "I daresay she's worse than Professor Harris, and she was crazier than anything, let me tell you."

"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye...So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you… Books can take you only so far in this field…"

James sort of zoned out during the rest of Nutter-Trewlaney's introductory speech...instead, James thought back to _his_ first Divination Class with _his_ friends...

_OoOoOoOoOo_

_"Ha! Look at all those idiots...we got up here in...what was it, two minutes Jamsies? And they're all out of breath! Ah, this is going to be a fun year!" Sirius exclaimed, as he, James, Remus, and Peter sat down for their first Divination Lesson._

_"Welcome, welcome!" _

_Everyone in the small, odd-smelling classroom looked up at the high, squeeky voice of Professor Harris. "My name is Elizabeth Harris, and I will be your guide to the beyond!"_

_James and Sirius snorted. Peter was furitively copying down every single word Professor Harris said on a piece of parchment. Remus was zoning in and out; he _sitll_ wasn't sure why he'd agreed to take Divination...it seemed rather silly to him, but it _was_ time to spend with his friends, if nothing else._

_"This year, you will seek your Inner Eye, read the future, and find your destiny! I have foreseen all that will be, my dear pupils...and I can see that in this room, there sits two Dark Wizards." _

_Everyone's eyes bulged from their sockets, and they all looked around at each other...almost as if they were expecting to see the Dark Mark printed on someone's forhead._

_"No, no!" Professor Harris corrected at once, laughing. "Not _yet_. No, my dears...when I speak, I will not speak of this time...only of the _future_! And in the _future_ two of you will become Dark Wizards, allied with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I also foresee two future Aurors, quite successful, they will be...I see a future Professor here, as well, though you won't enjoy your work at all...I also foresee that the House Elves will make a mistake today, and serve Pumpkin Pastries instead of pudding for dessert...my, how I was looking forward to that _pudding_..." _

_"Does anyone else think she's a complete nutter?" James whispered, looking eagerly to his friends._

* * *

><p>The sound of breaking china snapped James out of his memory.<p>

A pudgy looking boy - the one who was called "Neville", obviously Frank's child - had broken his cup. James wasn't even aware they had _gotten_ cups. Ah. So they would be reading tea leaves first. _Wonderful._

"Right." James said, looking into Ron's cup. "You've got a sort of half-moon looking thing...let's see what that means...er...ah, here it is! It means that your life will be half-fufilled...er, rather sorry about that...but there's also this thing here, that looks like a...flower? Yeah, that's definitely a flower, mate...and that means that you're going to be quite happy for a long time...so you're going to be happy about an unfufilled life?"

Hermione and Ron stared at James incredulously.

"What?" he asked, getting on the defensive.

"Didn't you say you'd taken this class before?" Hermione asked.

"Yes."

"Well...did you _fail_ it when you took it the first time, mate? Cause to me, it looks like you need your Inner Eye tested." Ron said.

"...that's beside the point. And it wasn't my fault! Sirius was always-"

"Okay!" Hermione said, not wanting to hear anymore talk of Sirius. James noticed that it unnerved Hermione to even speak his name.

'Would he end up like Voldemort?' James wondered to himself. 'People fearing to speak the name of Sirius Black?'

"Right." Ron said, shaking his head. "My turn."

Ron looked in James's cup, and said, "Alright, well...there's a sort of blob right there...it looks sort of like a sea-shell which means...'used'...that doesn't sound promising...but there's also a blob _here_, that looks a bit like a bowler hat...maybe you'll work for the Ministry of Magic!"

James snorted. "So you're saying that I'm going to be _used_ by the Ministry? And you thought _I_ was awful at making predictions."

"Ah, shut it." Ron said playfully. James grinned.

"Wait-" Ron said, peering further into James's cup. "There is _something_ else here...looks a bit like an animal...a hippo, maybe? No...no, that's got to be a sheep..."

Professor Trewlaney came up to them then, and said, "Let me have a look at that, dear."

Trewlaney peered into James's cup, and let out a scream of sorrow.

"What?" James asked.

"My dear..." Trewlaney said, taking a shuttering breath. "You have...the _Grim_."

"The What?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I thought it was a _sheep_..." Ron muttered.

"The Grim!" Trewlaney said. "Takes the form of a giant, spectral dog. Among the darkest omens in our world...my dear boy...it is an omen for _death_."

James snorted. Okay, yes, he probably _did_ have the Grim...he was already dead, wasn't he?

* * *

><p>James, Ron, and Hermione entered Transfiguartion Class. Everyone else was feeling particularly down about James's prediction, but he couldn't care less. Trewlaney was a nutter, an absolute nutter, and he had <em>no<em> reason to listen to her.

Instead, James found himself actually paying attention in Minnie's class; he knew all the answers to everything she was asking; their lesson was all about Animagi transformations.

However, no one clapped when she turned into a cat and back, and that seemed to make Minnie suspicious.

"Really, what has got into you all today?" she huffed. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got an applause from the class!"

'Yeah right.' James smirked to himself. 'The Marauders were the _only_ ones who clapped for you last year (my time), and that's _only_ because we'd been trying to figure out Animagi transformations for _months_ and we _knew_ how difficult it was.'

"Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and —"

"Ah, of course," said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning. "There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

"Me." James smirked, raising his hand. The rest of the class seemed shocked at how...at-ease he seemed with the whole thing.

"I see," said Professor McGonagall, fixing James with her eyes. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues —" Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils were flaring.

She went on, more calmly, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney…"

She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

Everyone laughed at that, most especially James; ah, good old Minnie...you could always count on her!

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><p>"What do we have next?" James asked, as the Transfiguartion lesson ended.<p>

"_We've _got Care of Magical Creatures." Hermione said. "_You_ are going to see Dumbledore."

"What? Why? This is _news to me_." James said, staring incredulously at Hermione.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" Hermione asked. "Dumbledore will know what to do...he'll know how you came here, how to send you back, what memory charms to perform-"

"And _you_," James said, cutting Hermione off. "Just named all the reasons why I'm _not_ going to see him. I don't _need_ to know how I got here, I don't _plan_ on going back until I see Sirius, and I most certainly _won't_ be going back with _any_ memory charms put on me. I want to _change_ this future, and that's going to be easy if I forget everything I've learned, now will it?"

"But James," Hermione whispered. "Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time."

"I'm willing to risk everything." James assured Hermione.

"Please, just humor me." Hermione begged. "Go see Dumbledore, or at _least_ Professor Lupin...you need to talk to someone about this, a Professor."

"You're telling me to skip Care of Magical Creatures to spend the afternoon with Moony?" James asked incredulously. "See ya!"

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><p><strong>What did you think? Better? As promised, we kept with the plot, but now it's ALL James, with only a few bits of diolague from PoA:) I hope that it was okay, and pretty please review? I'm hoping to keep the writing style for the rest of the story similar to <em>this<em> chapter - that way, there's no copyright from stealing JK Rowling's fine work (which reminds me...any part, ANY PART of the story ANYWHERE that was taken directly from Prisoner of Azkaban belongs to _her_ and not to _me_. Js:)) . So, tell me what you thought!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	7. 7: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP (sadly.)**

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of the support on Chapter Six! Now, I have a sort of poll for you all: should James find Sirius sooner than Harry did in PoA, or should I wait for a large, super-emotional reunion later on? I mean, I was _going_ to wait for later on, so that James could still see Pettigrew on the map so that Remus can start believing in Sirius's innocence so that they aren't trying to kill Padfoot, but I dunno...what do you all think? Oh, and to answer another question, I've purposely kept Scabbers out of the story...James might see him pretty soon, but I didn't want James seeing him quite yet (as he'll obviously recocgnize him right away) so...yeah! That should be all & thanks again!:)**

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><p><span>Chapter Seven<span>: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

James meandered through the hallways at a leisurely pace, taking his own sweet time to get to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. Since most of the students were already in class, James didn't have to worry about running into anyone; he usually tried to steer clear of others (save Ron, Hermione, the Twins, and Moony) in case someone tried to talk to him thinking he was Harry. He didn't want to mess the act up.

Not bothering to knock, James strolled into Remus's office like he owned the place. Moony was there, of course, sitting in a chair behind his desk sipping some tea. When he saw James, he smiled, and told him to sit.

"What are you doing here?" Remus asked his friend with a smile. "You're lesson's not until later."

"Ah, Moony, don't you know me _at all_?" James asked, chuckling. "I didn't come here to get a head start on _homework,_ Remus. Hermione suggested I talk to Dumbledore 'bout this whole ordeal, and of course I wasn't going to do _that_." James rolled his eyes. "But she still wanted me to talk to someone, so I thought I'd check up on my good friend, Mr. Moony."

Remus smiled once, before sighing heavily. "No one's called me that in _years_."

"Not even Wormtail?" James asked. "Or Padfoot?"

Remus, looking grim, said, "No. But James...I can't tell you things - I can't tell you _anything_. When you go back to your own time - _don't give me that look, you _will _go back _- it could change the present if you know too much."

Surprisingly, James laughed, "Like I said: things _need_ to be changed. I know that Sirius was in Azkaban...that can't happen, and I _won't_ let Harry grow up without Lily and me. I saw what he was living with when I woke up to Vernon Dursley; I won't let that kind of future be a reality for _my_ son."

Remus sighed; he'd forgotten how _persuasive_ James could be. He decided to be blunt; he knew James wouldn't take it well in any case. "Wormtail is dead."

"W-What?" James asked sadly, looking downcast.

"He was murdered." Remus said unhappily.

"By who?" James asked. "Voldemort?"

"No." Remus shook his head. "By _Sirius._"

There was a beat of silence before James's explosion of:

"WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, MOONY? THIS IS _PADFOOT_ WE'RE TALKING ABOUT - HE'D _NEVER_-!"

"He _was_ in Azkaban, Prongs." Remus said. "He did something terrible, so terrible that _that_ was his fate."

"Why? Why did he kill Wormtail?" James asked, trying to fight back tears. Hearing about this future-Sirius was making him miss his time very much.

"I don't know if I should-" Remus began, but James cut him off.

"Remus, _please_." James begged. "Just _tell _me. _Please_. I can't _bear_ not knowing."

'Blimme,' Remus thought. 'I forgot how bloody _persistent_ Prongs was!'

"Fine." Remus said. "But you won't like it."

"Oh, like I _liked_ hearing that Padfoot killed Wormtail?" James asked coldly, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, fine. I'll tell you the story as I know it...just try and keep your voice down, huh?"

James sighed, "Fine. Just get on with it Moony, I'm sitting on the edge of my seat here."

Remus laughed to himself once, then said, "Okay. Well...as you obviously know, you and Lily got together seventh year. Since you were spending all that time together anyway-"

"What do you mean?" James interupted. "Why were we spending extra time together?"

"Well, since you were Head Boy and Girl-"

"Who in Merlin's name made _me_ Head Boy?" James laughed, grinning. "You _know_ that means they have to give me all the common room passwords, even Slythe-"

"_Anyway_," Remus continued pointedly, but James stopped him again.

"Just tell me we prank those bloody snakes _once_ with that password - just _once_." James pleaded.

"Once?" Remus asked incredulously. "Blimme, there isn't a memory I have of seventh year when you and Sirius _weren't_ in detention for doing something to that bloody common room."

James thrust his fist in the air for victory, and listened as Remus continued his story.

"So you two graduated and were together. Then, all of us joined the Order of the Phoenix-"

"The Order of what now?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Army against Voldemort." Remus said dismissively. "Anyway, all of us joined the Order, but there was talk of a traitor amongst us. You and Padfoot...well, you suspected me."

"WHAT?" James shouted, nearly breaking the windows with his loud voice.

"Shush!" Remus hissed, looking intently at James. "I _told_ you to-"

"We thought it was _you_?" James asked again. "But _Remus-_"

"_Anyways_," Remus continued. "You thought it was me. Now, Dumbledore had a lot of spies, as you could probably guess - he's _Dumbledore_. So one of his spies tipped him off that Voldemort'd heard of a prophecy of the one who would defeat him. This, er, prophecy spoke of a young boy, born at the end of July. It could have only been one of two young babies. And Voldemort chose _one_ of them to go after."

"No." James said, already guessing at where this was going. "No, don't _even_ tell me it was-"

"You and Lily went into hiding." Remus sighed, his eyes zoning out as though with a memory. "You lived with Harry in Godric's Hollow. Your house was under the Fidelius Charm...you remember that, don't you? Well, you had to select a Secret Keeper, and naturally you chose-"

"Sirius." James hollowly whispered, his eyes blank and staring.

Remus sighed again, and nodded. "And for a while, things were great. We visited all the time, though I less frequently than Padfoot and Wormtail. Things were okay - until Halloween.

"_He_ came - Voldemort. Sirius..._he_ was the spy, Prongs. _Sirius_...we never thought it was...I mean, I knew it wasn't _me_, but _Sirius_...? I never would have thought that he'd join Voldemort for _anything_. But he did. He-He sold you and Lily out. And Voldemort killed you and Lily. But when he went to kill Harry...something happened. The curse rebounded, and _your_ one-year old son defeated the darkest wizard of our time.

"He went to live with Vernon and Petunia, and the rest of _that_ is history. However, Peter was very hurt about Sirius's betrayal."

"Oh Moony, he _didn't_?" James asked, putting his face in his hands to hide his tears. Remus was making no move to cover his own.

"He did. He barely managed the words, _"James and Lily, Sirius, how could you?"_ before Sirius blasted the street apart. He was still laughing when the Ministry took him away."

"Oh my Merlin." James muttered. "I can't believe...Sirius would do that."

"None of us thought he would." Remus sighed. "But the Ministry gave Peter an award for his bravery...I think that was some comfort to those who knew him best."

"Wormtail..." James chastied, shaking his head. "My son defeated Voldemort...Sirius is a murderer..."

"I know." Remus agreed. "I know."

"We have to find him." James said, determined.

"But James," Remus said. "The Ministry's been at it for weeks, and they haven't seen-"

"And I suppose they know that Sirius is an Animagus, huh?" James asked skeptically, raising his eyebrows.

Remus sighed. "I honeslty _just_ remembered that you knew about that."

"So they _don't_ know." James said. "Sirius might be a mad murderer, but he's _not_ stupid - he wouldn't go running around as a human with the whole world against him! We _have_ to find _Padfoot_."

"I don't know why you want to put yourself through that." Remus said, dabbing the few stray tears from his cheek. "When we catch him, we'll only have to hand him over right away...and then the Dementors will give him the _Kiss_," here, Remus actually shuddered. "And seeing him like that will only hurt us more."

"I miss my time so much already." James said. "In _my_ time, you and Padfoot just got into an argument over the fact that he _refuses_ to do his Summer work...we're just about to enter fifth year, and all three of you have been at my place the past few days...we're all riding to King's Cross together..."

Remus surprised James by chuckling. "I _remember_ that." he said, smiling slightly.

"I want to change things, Remmy." James whispered, surprising Remus with how _sincere_ James could be at 15. "This _can't_ happen."

Remus - _once again_ - sighed. "You'll be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Then, Remus smiled. "And I hearsay that the teacher is rather strict when it comes to tardies, young man."

James rolled his eyes, mock-punched his friend's shoulder. "Right away _Professor._"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know that in the book, the Defense lesson isn't until later in the week, but for the intents and purposes of this story, I'm making it the same day. I apologize for any of you who might be upset by this, but I don't want to go through James's entire week - let's get the show on the road! Oh, and one more thing...since Harry was never at Hagrid's lesson, and he never showed off on Buckbeak, Malfoy never had a reason to go near the hippogriff...so he isn't injured and Buckbeak isn't on trial..._at the moment_...okay, that's it! Enjoy the rest of the chapter and thanks for reading!**

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><p>"Right then," said Professor Lupin, when everyone was ready. "If you'd follow me."<p>

James was in Remus's Defense Lesson. He was leading them away to another room, as it was a practical lesson and they needed only their wands. James walked right next to Moony, completely forgetting that _he_ was the teacher - as far as James was concerned, he was just hanging out iwth his friend.

That was when they ran into Peeves.

Peeves didn't look up until Remus was two feet away; then he wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song.

"Loony, loopy Lupin," Peeves sang. "Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy Lupin —"

"He still _calls_ you that?" James whispered, and Remus laughed quietly; he'd forgotten how long ago the poltergeist had come up with the silly nickname.

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves," he said pleasantly. "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."

Peeves paid no attention to Remus's words, except to blow a loud wet raspberry.

Remus gave a small sigh and took out his wand.

"This is a useful little spell," he told the class over his shoulder. "Please watch closely."

James grinned widely - he knew _exactly_ what Remus was about to do - in fact, it was _he_ who had taught the werewolf this particular spell/

Remus raised the wand to shoulder height, said, "Waddiwasi!" and pointed it at Peeves.

With the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril; he whirled upright and zoomed away, cursing.

"Oh Moony-" James laughed. "That was great!"

"Thank you, _Harry_," laughed Remus, putting his wand away again. "Shall we proceed?"

They set off again, the class looking at Moony with looks of amazement and utter respect.

"See? They already like you!" James laughed.

Remus led them down a second corridor and stopped, right outside the staffroom door.

"Inside, please," said Remus, opening it and standing back.

The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for one teacher. A man was sitting in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. His eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth.

As Remus came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." He got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

James was in shock. 'No way.' he thought. 'Snivelly! And...he's being mean to Neville...he better watch it.'

"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," Remus said, "and I am sure he will perform it admirably."

"Yes! Go Moony!" James whispered, so low that only Remus could hear. He got a low smile in response.

Snape's lip curled, but he left, shutting the door with a snap.

"Now, then," said Remus beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. As Remus went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.

"Nothing to worry about," said Remus calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a Boggart in there.".

"Boggart?" James asked, raising his eyebrows. "Nice first lesson, _Professor_!"

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Remus, as though he hadn't heard a word that his old friend had said. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks — I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice.

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?"

Hermione put up her hand. James got the distinct impression that she and Remus would get along famously, much as Lily and Remus had when Lily'd despised James.

"It's a shape-shifter," Hermione said cheerfully, and if James were to close his eyes, he could easily imagine that Hermione was Lily. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Remus, and Hermione glowed.

'Oh no!' James thought. 'Attack of the bookworms! Everyone, ruuuun!'

"So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form." Remus continued. "He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears.

"This means," said Remus, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror and James's cocky smirk, "that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

James laughed. Moony'd always tried to get him and Sirius to answer questions in class, but both of them had always refused. Who knew Moony would actually be able to _make_ him answer a question one day? "Because there are so many of us, it'll go bonkers trying to figure out what form to take."

"He _can_ be taught." Remus muttered incredulously, though James wasn't sure that anyone else could hear.

"It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart." Remus continued, and James zoned out as his old friend droned on and on. "He becomes confused, blah blah blah...corpse or a flesh-eating slug? Blah blah blah... I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake, boring boring boring — Not remotely dumb words, dumb words, dumb words... The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that dumb dumb dumb...What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing.

"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please… riddikulus!"

"RIDDIKULUS!" James cried loudly, and the rest of the class followed after him.

"Riddikulus!" said the class together.

"Good," said Remus. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."

The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows.

"Right, Neville," said Professor Lupin. "First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out.

"I didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," said Remus cheerfully.

Neville looked around rather wildly, as though begging someone to help him, then said, in barely more than a whisper, "Professor Snape."

'Oh this is going to be AMAZING!' James thought cheerily, already seeing where this was headed.

"Professor Snape… hmmm… Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Er — yes," said Neville nervously. "But — I don't want the Boggart to turn into her either."

"No, no, you misunderstand me," said Remus, now smiling. "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"

"Oh my-" James laughed, clutching his side. Oh, Moony was _not_-!

Neville looked startled, but said, "Well… always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress… green, normally… and sometimes a fox-fur scarf."

"And a handbag?" prompted Remus.

"A big red one," said Neville.

"Right then," said Remus. "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"Yes," said Neville uncertainty, plainly wondering what was coming next.

Remus bent over to whisper further instructions to Neville. James was about to realize his life's dream - er, second life's dream. His first was to get Lily to date him, of course, but the second one was to see Snivelous Snape dressed as an elderly lady - _priceless!_

"Everyone ready?" said Remus.

"Neville, we're going to back away," said Remus. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward… Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot —"

They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready.

"On the count of three, Neville," said Remus, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One — two — three —now!"

A jet of sparks shot from the end of Remus's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Greasy as ever, Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville.

Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes.

"R — r — riddikulus! " squeaked Neville.

There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag.

"PRICELESS!" James screeched, laughing far louder than anyone else. Remus snuck a look at James, and laughed right along with him. And suddenly, it wasn't like it was so far ahead of the times when laughing with James was the norm - right at that moment, it was just Moony and Prongs laughing at a Slytherin.

After the laughing had died down a bit (though James was still chortling madly, secretly wishing that Padfoot was with him, laughing at this, too) Remus said, "Alright Parvati, you're up!"

Parvati walked forward, her face set. Snape rounded on her. There was another crack, and where he had stood was a bloodstained, bandaged mummy; its sightless face was turned to Parvati and it began to walk toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising —

"Riddikulus!" cried Parvati.

A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.

"Seamus!" roared Remus.

Seamus darted past Parvati.

Crack! Where the mummy had been was a woman with floorlength black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face — a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek that made the hair on James's head stand on end — "Riddikulus!" shouted Seamus.

"It's confused!" shouted Remus. "We're getting there! Dean!"

"You're a great teacher, Moony." James whispered, as more students were going up to face their fears.

"_You_ think so?" Remus asked. "Huh. I _must_ be good then - I've made one of the Terrible Two compliment a teacher!"

James grinned widely; while the Marauders included all four friends, the Terrible Two had been a special nickname for just him and Sirius. It'd been given to them first year, for all of their mischeivious pranking. Once the Marauders had actually been formed, only Sirius and James had used the nickname again, but James wouldn't ever forget it as long as he lived.

James sort of zoned out in the memory, when Moony's extra-loud voice snapped him back into reality.

"Excellent! Ron, you next!"

Ron leapt forward.

Crack!

Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly. For a moment, James thought Ron had frozen. Then —

"Riddikulus!" bellowed Ron, and the spider's legs vanished; it rolled over and over; a strange looking girl squealed and ran out of its way and it came to a halt at James's feet. James raised his wand, and watched as the Boggart changed forms once again with a _Crack!_

More people screamed than with the spider - there, standing right in front of the class, was Sirius Black.

Now, it wasn't the Sirius that James had grown up with - this was the Sirius that had been on the television. James hadn't expected the sudden arrival, so without thinking too much about it, he shouted, "Riddikulus!"

Sirius was then standing there with a tutu on, with his hair dyed pink and blue polka dots covering his body. With a puff of smoke, the Boggart disappeared, leaving James staring at the spot where his ex-best friend had just been standing.

"Excellent!" cried Remus as the class broke into applause. Remus looked cool and collected, but James could see past that act - inside, he was sure that his friend was shaking. "Excellent, Harry. Well done, everyone… Let me see… five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the Boggart…and five each to Hermione and Harry."

"Cool." James muttered, not really paying attention. He was still staring at the floor.

Remus said shakily, "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on Boggarts and summarize it for me… to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."

The rest of the class had gone, but James was frozen to the ground. He didn't really need to leave anyway - Defense Against the Dark Arts had been his last class. But he'd be late for dinner-

Though for once, James could hardly care.

"You alright, mate?" Remus asked, looking at James with concern.

"Why?" James asked. "Why am I scared of Padfoot?"

"You're not scared of _Padfoot_." Remus said. "You're frightened of the _thing_ that he's become."

"Is that really what he looks like now?" James asked. It had been so hard to make the connection - this man looked _nothing_ like the Sirius he'd grown up with.

"No." Remus said. "I reckon he looks worse now - that's what he looked like the night he was captured. You were obviously drawing the fear from the only thing you've seen of this future-Sirius, which must have been an article in the Prophet or something."

"Yeah." James said, trying to keep his cool. "Yeah, I saw him in the Prophet. I can't believe what he's become."

Remus - obviously trying not to upset James more - said, "Well, I don't know what he's like _now_, but I know that past-Sirius would screech at you if you missed a _bite_ at dinner."

James tried to smile, but probably failed horribly. "Right, then." he said. "I'll see you later, then."

Remus agreed, and watched Prongs shuffle out of his room. Remus tried to ignore the fact that 'I'll see you later, then.' was the last thing that James Potter ever said to him before he died.

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><p><strong>How was it? Sorry for the wait, but I just COULDN'T figure out what to make James's boggart! I hope that this was believable;) I know that the middle of it sounded like it was from the book, and some of it was, but I hope that things were a LITTLE different with Jamesies around! I'll start work on the next chapter as soon as I get some reviews! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed:)<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


	8. 8: Flight of the Fat Lady

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP (sadly.)**

**A/N: Thanks for all the support, you guys! As per most of the reviews, I've decided to stick with the book and make James meet Sirius later - if anyone has any other suggestions, feel free to tell me! Now...let's check out James's first Quidditch practice, shall we?(;**

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><p><span>Chapter Eight: Flight of the Fat Lady<span>

James stumbled into his dorm, exhausted. His muscles ached, the room was spinning, and his hair was even messier than usual. Dirt covered every inch of his body, and scrapes decorated his arms. Normally, you'd have thought it mad that James Potter could look so beat up by a simple Quidditch practice - but that was back in the good old days, back when he was a _Chaser_.

Now, since James had to pretend to be Harry, he was a _Seeker_. James had always admired the Seekers, and was _thrilled_ that his son had the talent to become one...however, James was horribly bad at catching that ruddy flying _walnut_.

James had great reflexes - he often nicked a Golden Snitch from Madame Hooch's office to mess around with. But he was _hopeless_ when it came to actually _spotting_ the Golden Snitch in the air. James was so used to handling the Quaffles, that it was even _worse_ when he flew around for nearly an hour trying to catch the Snitch. In fact - as good of a flyer as James was - he crash-landed into the stands twice because he was too busy looking for the Snitch to notice where he was flying, and he ran into a bludger when he had his arm outstretched in an effort to balance himself.

James sank into his bed, and sighed. It was long past nightfall, and everyone else in the room was asleep. James was sad - sure, he _loved_ Quidditch, but being out three nights a week for practices meant less time to look for Sirius.

'But do I still want to?' James wondered. 'He's done so much evil...he's not even the same man. And what if...what if he tries to kill me when he finds out that I'm James? I mean, he sure had _no_ problem signing my death certificate before-'

'That's ridiculous!' The other part of James argued. 'This is _Padfoot_ we're talking about - the boy who _swore_ himself to the Marauders, to brotherhood, to _friendship_ and to loyalty - and his Animagus is a _dog_. He's nothing if not loyal - he must have been framed.'

'But all the evidence is there.' James sighed. It was true; things looked rather bleak for Sirius.

'And besides,' James thought wryly. 'You didn't come to this time to have _fun_, Potter. You're here to make a difference, not to help Oliver Wood win the Quidditch Cup - you need to _change_ this future...and to do that, you'll _have_ to confront Sirius sooner or later.'

'I pick later.' James yawned. 'I'm bloody exhausted.'

James - not even taking off his Quidditch uniform - slipped under the covers and fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>"JAMES! JAMES, WAKE UP!" <em>

_James's groggy eyes snapped open, and his face was mere centimeters away from Sirius's._

_"Bloody hell mate, get off me!" James said irritably, groping his bedside table for his glasses. "What's got you up so early, anyhow?" _

_"Halloween!" Sirius shouted gleefully. James was astonished to see that his friend was already dressed._

_"So?" James asked, rubbing some sleep from his eyes._

_"So?" Sirius asked incredulously. He bent down further towards James, and shook his shoulders. "SO? So, mate, it's Halloween! _Third _year! HOGSMEADE!"_

_"YES!" James said, jumping from his bed as quickly as he could. "I'd completely forgotten! Well, let's hurry then - ZONKO'S, HERE WE COME!" _

_"Come on Remus, up! Up, up, UP!" Sirius said, pouncing on Remus's bed like a cat._

_"Huh-wha?" Remus asked groggily, turning over under the sheets. "Come on Sirius, five more-" _

_"Five more NOTHING!" Sirius shrieked indignantly. "HOGS. MEADE." _

_James couldn't help but laugh at the way his friend split the word into two syllables - he sounded so bloody _girly_._

_"Peter, don't EVEN make me come over there!" Sirius threatened, throwing a pillow at Peter's sleeping form. "I will go _straight_ to the water, mate!"_

_"I'm up, I'm up!" Peter squeeled, jumping from his bed so as not to have a bucket of water dumped on him from Sirius._

_"Remus, come on!" Sirius whined. "Get dressed! HOGSMEADE!" _

_Twenty minutes later, all four Marauders were completely dressed and ready to go. They literally _skipped_ out the front door, and their eyes nearly buldged out of their sockets at the sight of Hogsmeade._

_"Where to first?" Remus asked. "Like I even have to ask." _

_It was uncanily twin-like how James and Sirius said together, "Zonko's." _

_"Fine, fine." Remus laughed. "Let's go, then!" _

_Peter, Sirius, James, and Remus ran to Zonko's as quickly as their legs would carry them, and James and Sirius swore that their _knees_ were about to give out at the sight of the joke store._

_"Heaven." Sirius muttered, staring transfixed at the walls of jokes. "I think I've died and gone to heaven." _

_"Then so have I, mate." James said, a look of equal reverancy on his face. "Pinch me, I'm dreaming." _

_"OUCH!" James complained, rubbing his arm where Remus had pinched him. "What was _that_ for?" _

_"You asked." Remus shrugged. Peter didn't say a word; he was busy staring at the two Ravenclaw girls who were next to him. _

_"Zonko's," Sirius muttered._

_"You have just had," James continued._

_"Hogwarts's finest-" _

_"And most experienced-"_

_"Pranksters of all time-" _

_"Enter your joke shop-" _

_"HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE!" _

* * *

><p>"Mate? Mate, come on, wake up! WAKE UP!"<p>

James groggily opened his eyes, and nearly screamed - Ron's face was mere inches from his own.

"What?" James asked. "Ron, it's only five - why are you up so early, huh?"

"It's Halloween!" Ron shouted happily.

"_Oh_." James said. "This is your first trip to Hogsmeade today, isn't it?"

"YES!" Ron shouted happily.

"Alright, I'll be dressed in a minute." James sighed, slowly getting out of bed.

"Er, mate." Ron said uneasily, as though he had _just_ remembered something.

"What?" James asked, slipping on a sweater over his night shirt.

"Can you go? I mean, no one signed your-"

"I don't need my form signed." James smirked.

"What?"

"I have, er, _alternate means_ of getting to the village. Just go - I'll meet you in the Three Broomsticks."

* * *

><p>James walked slowly through Hogsmead. The thrill of seeing the village had lost its touch - at least to James, who was feeling particularly upset by the dream he'd had of <em>his <em>first experience in the village. All four Marauders had been so young and carefree...

'And now, two of us is dead, one is a very upset-looking werewolf, and the other one's an escaped convict. Who would have thought?'

James saw people walking around him, shouting and laughing. Fred and George had gone into Zonko's nearly twenty minutes before and James had yet to see them come out...the village was nice this time of year, too, not too cold but not too hot...James had to wear his Invisibility Cloak, since Harry wasn't supposed to actually _be_ in Hogsmeade.

"When I change the future, that will _not_ be an issue." James muttered to himself, gritting his teeth at the thought of how his son had grown up.

James had already met up with Ron - he'd been in Hogsmeade for nearly an hour. But he'd split up with the redhead - he rather wanted to be alone, which was usually highly unusual for James-

"But not with everything that's been going on." James said. "With all of this shock and whatnot, it's perfectly understandable that I'd want some time to myself."

* * *

><p>"We need to find her," said Dumbledore. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."<p>

James and most of the other Gryffindors were stuck on the steps - the Fat Lady had vanished!

James tried to stay out of the line of sight of his headmaster - he'd managed to avoid Dumbledore for nearly two months, and he was in _no_ mood for that to change.

"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice.

It was Peeves (shock!), bobbing over the crowd and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" said Dumbledore calmly, and Peeves's grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. Instead he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle. "Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," he said happily. "Poor thing." he added unconvincingly.

"Did she say who did it?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Oh yes, Professorhead," said Peeves, with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

There was an audible _gasp_ from everyone present, and James - personally - felt like ice water had been injected into his veins. _Sirius_? Sirius had been in the Castle?

'I've been searching for him _everywhere_!' James thought to himself. 'How is it he's slipped under _my_ nose - I'm the other One of the Terrible Two!'

"Alright everyone, come along!" Percy shouted, walking to the front of the crowd of Gryffindors. "Excuse me, I'm Head Boy!"

"No one cares." James muttered, turning to his left to laugh about his joke with Padfoot.

But Padfoot wasn't there.

The Weasley Twins were, though, and they'd _clearly_ heard what James had said.

"Good one, mate." George said approvingly, winking at James.

"You should tell it at parties." Fred agreed, putting his hand in the air for a high-five.

"Alright, that's enough talk!" Percy shouted. "Quiet down! Now, if everyone will form a line, and- hey, I said stop talking! If everyone would - Fred, George, _not_ funny! Everyone, _form a line right now_! I'll lead you to the Great Hall where you're to spend the remainder of the evening until a full and thorough search of the Castle has been done!"

"You coming, Harry?" Fred asked, staring at James oddly when he didn't move.

"What?" James asked. "Oh, no, you two go ahead - I've got something I've got to do. I'll catch up with you later."

George raised his eyebrows, but smiled. "Defying Perc...fine in our book, mate, take your time!"

"Will do." James muttered, but the Twins were already gone.

James walked behind the everyone else, hiding in a corner. He flung his Invisibility Cloak over himself, and started up towards the Astronomy Tower.

He had _no_ intention of Sirius leaving the Castle without first confronting James.

* * *

><p><strong>A bit short, and I bit boring <em>- I know<em>. But it _will_ get better - I want to get to Chapter Ten already! THE MARAUDERS MAP! That's where the Twins will find out James's true identity - CAN'T WAIT! So...pretty please review? Any suggestions would be wonderful, and I will make the next chapter more action-y than this one! ;)**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	9. 9: Grim Defeat

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP (sadly.)**

**A/N: Thank you guys SO much for all of the magnificent reviews! Keep 'em comin'! Oh, and to answer a question: I have kept Scabbers out of the story ON PURPOSE! I didn't want James to realize that Wormtail was the betrayer quite yet, and I want it to come as a real shock when he finds out...as for other points, since James is just starting his fifth year and they JUST became Animagi, I don't think that James would have recognized Peter right away anyhow, and besides, Scabbers is losing hair & weight at this point because of Sirius...and the only reason I had James recognize Sirius in the beginning is because I think that Prongs would have paid more attention to Padfoot than to Wormtail and would have known his best mate right away, don't you?(: Anyhow, thanks again and here's Chapter 9!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Nine: Grim Defeat<span>

James - covered by his Invisibility Cloak - first made his way to Hufflepuff Tower.

If Sirius hadn't already left the Castle, he wouldn't be able to now; Dumbledore already had it on lockdown, so the only ways that Sirius could get out would be one of the seven secret passageways. But only a few of them would be accessible to Padfoot, and besides, after going mad in Azkaban...would Sirius really remember any of them?

The Castle looked eery in the night; James always thought that on these late-night adventures. Of course, the last time he'd been on such an adventure, it had been under quite different circumstances.

They'd been planning to go to the kitchens, the Marauders. It was only a few months ago, to James. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the concept that to Remus, it had been _decades_ since then. James tried to not concentrate about the _time_ so much - he was good at blocking it out, but sometimes, it was hard. He really, really, _really _missed his friends, even Lily, and just wanted to go _home_.

After searching six of the seven passageways, James made it to the One-Eyed-Witch passage; it had been a personal favorite of the Marauders. By this point, though, James had given up all hope of finding Sirius and was really only searching at all for the fun of it. He didn't want to go to the Great Hall with the rest of the school; all he'd be doing there anyway would be trying to sleep but failing miserably, and-

Well, needless to say, James hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings; in fact, he hadn't been paying much attention to _anything_. So it goes without saying that he was scared out of his wits when he saw a large, black sillhouette in front of the passage.

James sucked in a shocked breath. He wanted to scream, _"SIRIUS!"_ at the top of his lungs, as he would have back in his own time. But he held his tongue; this _wasn't_ his friend Sirius, this was Sirius the cold blooded _murderer_. But even that didn't stop James from quietly tip-toeing his way towards Padfoot.

Of course, it should be impossible that Sirius would have seen him at all. James was completely invisible and was being quieter than a rat. But it seemed that Sirius _sensed _he wasn't alone. He darted his head from left to right, a low menacing growl building in his throat. James was slightly taken aback at the rather rabid-looking animal in front of him, but he didn't stop his movement forward. Just a few more steps-

_"Hang on, Sirius." _James thought furitively. _"Please, just talk to me without killing me, huh?"_

But no sooner had James formed these thoughts than Sirius was gone.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, when he was feigning sleep in the Great Hall, James thought about everything that had been happening to him. He told <em>no one<em> that he saw Sirius; for two reasons, mainly. First off, he would be sure to get in trouble for being out and about under the Cloak, and - not that he really _cared_ about getting a detention - it would be a setback to get in trouble when he had so many more important things to worry about. And secondly, even though Sirius had betrayed him, he couldn't bring himself to betray Sirius. Unlike Sirius, James had _no_ intention of breaking his Marauder's Oath.

It was wrapped in these thoughts, under the dim light of the Great Hall, that James heard Dumledore speaking to Snape.

"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before — ah — the start of term?" Snape said.

"I do, Severus." Dumbledore replied, and James chuckled quietly at the warning-tone in his Headmaster's voice.

"It seems — almost impossible — that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed —"

It was really, really, _really_ stupid, what James did next. No students _heard_ him; everyone else was sound asleep, save Ron, who James had been watching talking to himself in the dark. Only Dumbledore, Snape, and Ron's stupid Bighead brother - Percy - were in the Hall. So even though there was no one there to see him, James _really_ shouldn't have opened his mouth.

He jumped up from his place on the ground, and glared daggers at Snape. "I hope you're not implying what I think you are, _Professor_."

"Excuse me, _Potter_?" Snape snarled, his nose flaring and his eyes nearly _glowing_.

"You really believe that Professor Lupin would help Black into the Castle?" James asked, trying to use the names that Harry would have to address his two old friends; the damage was already done, he melt as well smooth it over as best he could.

"I never _said_ who-"

"That's enough." Dumbledore said coolly, looking between James and Snape. "We don't want anyone else to wake. Harry, would you mind joining me in my office for a moment?"

Snape smirked at James, who was following Dumbledore out of the Hall. He was absolutely _thrilled_ that Harry was probably going to get in trouble but...back there, he'd seemed a bit _too_ much like his father.

* * *

><p>"Sherbert Lemon."<p>

James followed Dumbledore all the way to his office without saying a word, though his thoughts were running wild.

_"This is it."_ he thought, mentally shivering. _"Dumbledore knew me right away. He knows I'm not Harry. He saw the way I talked to Snivellous - I'm a goner. He's going to put a Memory Charm on me and send me back. And _this_ will be the future. I'm sorry Harry, Lily, Remus, Peter, Sirius, R-" _

"Harry, have a seat, won't you?" Dumbledore asked kindly, taking a seat at his own desk. James gulped.

"Lemon Drop?" Dumbledore offered. James shook his head as he sat down.

"My goodness James, you've never seemed quite so nervous to be in my office before." Dumbledore laughed, unwrapping his own Lemon Drop.

James tried to act surprised. "Professor, what do you mean 'James'? I'm-"

"My dear boy," Dumbledore said, looking pointedly at James. "You are much less like Harry than you would think. Harry wouldn't have taken an opportunity to be upset with Professor Snape - he gets in enough trouble with him as it is. And Harry is a _superb_ Seeker...I'm sorry, my boy, but you're a much better _Chaser_ than you are _Seeker_."

"How long have you known?" James asked, completely and utterly speechless. "Was it that obvious, Headmaster?"

"To most, no." Dumbledore assured. "But I'm far more optimistic than most, James. I knew who you were the moment I saw you."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" James asked.

"I wanted to give you an opportunity to know your son." Dumbledore explained. "As you must know by now, you are not present for Harry's life, and I thought that it surely wouldn't do much harm to allow you a little fun while you were in our time."

James raised his eyebrows, and said, "But surely you knew how I'd react to Sirius and Remus and Snivelly?"

"I had a hunch." Dumbledore shrugged, a twinkle in his eye. "But I thought that it would be good for them, too, save _Severus_." Dumbledore said, purposely putting an emphasis on the Potion Master's name. "Your friends have missed you, James."

"You mean _friend_." James corrected coldly. "Snivelly'll always hate me, and Sirius obviously doesn't like me much these days, does he? Or is it _not_ his fault that Lily and I are gone?"

Dumbledore said, and chose not to comment on Sirius.

"I s'pose you'll be sending me back now, then?" James asked, glaring at the wall.

"Well, James." Dumbledore began carefully. "As you must know by now, it is terribly dangerous to live in another time. It can completely alter future events, if proper Memory Charms are not immedietly used. And you know that the Ministry would never allow me to let you stay here."

"Have you any idea how I got here, Professor?" James asked, raising his eyebrows for what seemed like the hundreth time that night.

"I don't, my boy, but I'm afraid that that's quite irrelevant to what I'm telling you. The Ministry will never allow you to stay here. I cannot allow you to stay here. I must send you back. However, I'm afraid that with Sirius still at large, I lack the time to look up the proper way to send you to your time and bring Harry back to us, here. So you'll have to wait a little while. As for the Memory Charm, I'd see Professor _Lupin_ if I were you. He's the best at them, I hear."

James grinned widely. Maybe there was hope after all. "Yes." James agreed. "Yes! Yes, thank you, Headmaster!"

As James left Dumbledore's Office, he thought, _"Maybe this could all change, anyway...maybe...YES!"_

* * *

><p>"I <em>telling<em> you that's how he did it!" Hannah Abbot insisted in Herbology a few days later. "Sirius Black turn into a flowering shrub - _that's _how he's concealed himself from the Dementors! He's unrecognizable!"

James laughed along with the rest of the class. Yes, Sirius _would_ be unrecognizable...but James _doubted_ that he could turn into a flower.

"_Maybe Lily can."_ James thought wryly, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing at his own joke.

"I highly doubt _that_." Hermione huffed, rolling her eyes at the Hufflepuff. "It's _impossible_ to turn into a shrub!"

Hannah snorted a disgusted sound. "As far as _you_ know." she said. Then, she turned to Lavender and continued, "But I really _do_ think it's a shrub!"

* * *

><p>"Sorry!" James shouted as he ran into his Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. "Sorry I'm late, but I'm here, I'm here!"<p>

But it wasn't Remus's kind face that replied to James's being late - it was Snape's.

"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, so I think we'll make it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down."

But James wouldn't move. "Where's Professor Lupin?" he demanded, hating the fact that he was even _talking_ to Snape.

"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," said Snape with a twisted smile. "I believe I told you to sit down?"

_"Aw, no!"_ James thought sadly, taking a seat next to Hermione. _"It's the full moon! That means Moony won't be back for a few more days! ...Maybe I'll join him tonight...that _was_ the point of the whole Animagi thing, wasn't it?"_

"As I was saying before Potter interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far —"

"Please, sir, we've done Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappas, and Grindylows," said Hermione quickly, "and we're just about to start —"

"Be quiet," said Snape coldly. "I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organization."

"Hey!" James complained quietly so that only Hermione could hear. "Moony's _really_ organized! He comes 'round to clean my room once a year!"

"He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," said Dean Thomas boldly, and there was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the class, especially James, who whooped loudly.

"You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly overtaxing you — I would expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and Grindylows. Today we shall discuss —"

James watched him flick through the textbook, to the very back chapter, which he must know they hadn't covered.

"— werewolves," said Snape.

"WHAT?" James gasped quietly. Again, only Hermione could hear him, but he was pushing it. "That foul, greasy, evil, horrible, terrible excuse for a-"

"What?" Hermione asked curiously.

"He knows!" James said. "He _knows_! And he's just being a right foul git about it, too!"

"_What_?" Hermione asked, clearly not liking not being in the know.

But in their little conversation, they must have missed something, because Malfoy was saying, "-only respond to the sound of it's own kind: Awhoooooo!"

"Moony can do the wolf impression better." James muttered, rolling his eyes at Malfoy's feeble attempt at wolf-humor. Of course, James doubted he'd _ever_ find werewolf humor funny, unless one of the Marauders was saying it in good spirits.

For the rest of the lesson, all they did was copy notes about werewolves from their textbooks. James didn't really need to; not only had he already taken the class, but he knew more about werewolves than anyone else in the room, he was sure.

When the bell rang at last, Snape held them back.

"You will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is time somebody took this class in hand."

"Ways to _kill_ a werewolf?" James muttered to Hermione and Ron on their way out of the room. "Blimme, he _really_ hates Moony. Like, _really_."

"What?" Hermione asked. "What does that have to do with Prof-"

But Ron cut her off with his question of, "Snape's never been like this with any of our other Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, even if he did want the job. Why's he got it in for Lupin? D'you think this is all because of the Boggart?"

"Not hardly." James said. "Let's just say...Snape doesn't like me much, or Remus, Sirius, and Peter, for that matter."

"You go to school with him." Ron said, as though he was only remembering this fact, though James had told them all about what Hogwarts was like for him in his time. "Was he always this bitter and slimy?"

"Got worse with age." James shrugged, laughing. "But I can assure you, our _Snivelly_ isn't much better."

* * *

><p>"Okay. Let's go Team! Go, go, <em>go<em>!"

Mounting Harry's Nimbus 2000, James tried to mentally prepare himself. He'd never been quite so nervous for a Quidditch game; but then, he'd always been a Chaser, and it was against Slytherin.

The Quaffles and Snitch were released, and the game began.

Gryffindor started strong, beating Slytherin 20 to nothing in the first five minutes. James just kind of stayed in one place, trying to look for the Snitch. Not only was he hopelessly bad at it, but it was thunderstorming as well, making his attempts doubly useless.

James had to dodge two bludgers within the next minute; seemed the Slytherins wanted him out of the way quickly. James rolled his eyes; he wouldn't get hit. He had _amazing_ reflexes.

But it was still hard to see. Sighing, James quickly took off his glasses, muttered _"Impervious!"_ quickly, and smiled broadly when he put them back on. Ah, much better! They now repelled water.

"Thanks for that one, Lily." James laughed under his breath. "I owe you."

But James's attention was taken from thoughts of Lily when Malfoy seemed to spot something right behind James. Remembering that Malfoy was the Seeker, James turned around just in tim to see the Snitch flying away. He chased it furiously, happy that he was such a good flyer, and reached his arm out in an attempt to grab it.

James turned to follow the Snitch, intending to head back toward the middle of the field, but at that moment, another flash of lightning illuminated the stands, and he saw something that distracted him completely, the silhouette of an enormous shaggy black dog, clearly imprinted against the sky, motionless in the topmost, empty row of seats.

"Sirius." James muttered.

"Harry!" came Wood's anguished yell from the Gryffindor goal posts. "Harry, behind you!"

James looked wildly around. Malfoy was pelting up the field, and a tiny speck of gold was shimmering in the rain-filled air between them…

"Aw, no!" James complained loudly. "Thanks for that, Padfoot! And that was the closest I ever got to catching one of those ruddy things! C'mon broom, _faster_!"

James turned left and right to look for the Snitch, but he felt weird...something odd was happening. An eerie silence was falling across the stadium. The wind, though as strong as ever, was forgetting to roar. It was as though someone had turned off the sound, as though James had gone suddenly deaf — what was going on?

And then a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over him, inside him, just as he became aware of something moving on the field below…

Before he'd had time to think, James had taken his eyes off the Snitch and looked down.

At least a hundred Dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him, were standing beneath him.

It was as though freezing water were rising in his chest, cutting at his insides. He tried to reach around his Quidditch robes for his wand (after that incident with that rogue Bludger third year, James learned to never go anywhere without it) but it was too late. The Dementors were already at work on him, and by the time he found his wand, he was already falling...falling...

* * *

><p>"Lucky the ground was so soft."<p>

"I thought he was dead for sure."

"But he didn't even break his glasses."

James regained consciousness to the horribly familiar scent of the Hospital Wing. He'd been there enough times after a bloody rough Quidditch match to know what had happened; he had fallen, there had been Dementors, and now Poppy wasn't going to leave him alone for the next _month_ about his injuries.

James opened his eyes carefully, and Twin 1 jumped him.

"Harry!" Twin 2 shouted happily. "How're you feeling?"

_"They remind me of Rob and Cher_." James thought. Rob and Cher were the Gryffindor beaters back in his time; and they were bloody good at it, too. But they were also incredibly funny and caring, and that's why the Weasley Twins (who James had jokingly nicknamed "Twins 1 and 2") reminded him so much of them.

"What happened?" James asked quickly.

"You fell off your broom." Twin 2 said. "We thought you were a goner...musta been...I dunno, fifty feet?"

"We thought you'd died." Alicia-Something said, and James noticed the red rings around Hermione's eyes. He reckoned that, yeah, she was partially crying for him, but also for Harry...because if James died, then Harry was as good as dead, too.

"I meant the match." James said, as though his question had been blindingly obvious. "What happened? Who won? Are we doing a replay?"

No one said anything, and James felt awful. "We didn't lose, did we?" he asked sadly.

"_Malfoy_ got the Snitch." Twin 1 snorted, rolling his eyes. "Just after you fell. Took advantage of the situation, that little git did. Everyone else was distracted, so there wasn't anyone to stop him. He wouldn't have caught it any other way."

"Figures." James said angrily.

"Dumbledore was furious," Hermione said in a quaking voice. "I've never seen him that angry before. He ran onto the field right as you fell, waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wand at the Dementors. Shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium right away… He was furious they'd come onto the grounds. We heard him —"

"Wait-" James interupted. "Did anyone get my broom?"

The Team, Ron, and Hermione all looked at each other nervously, and James said, "What?"

"Well," Ron said. "When you fell, your broom sort of lost it...flew around all by itself in the wind and it- it sort of blew into the Whomping Willow."

"And?" James asked, refusing to believe that the best broom he'd ever flown was _gone_.

"Well, you know the Whomping Willow." Twin 1 said.

"Doesn't like being hit much." Twin 2 added.

Slowly, Alicia reached for a bag at her feet and turned it over on James's bed. He gasped audibly as the broom (or what was left of it) was revealed to him; it was in fifty different pieces, and was so messed up, it was practically _blasphemy._

"Even _Malfoy's_ bloody broom doesn't deserve to look so mutilated." James muttered, pressing a shaking hand to his lips dramatically. He stared reverantly at the broom, and said in a rather feminine voice, "Oh, you poor thing...look what that mean tree's _done_ to you..."

There was a weak laugh from the team, but it died down quickly. Sighing, they left one by one, until the only ones left were Ron and Hermione.

"Sirius was there." James muttered to them. "I saw him in the stands."

"Is that why you lost control of the broom?" Ron asked.

"Well, _that_." James said. "And the _hundreds of Dementors _below me."

"Well, look on the bright side." Hermione said, trying to be cheerful. "We've got Hogsmeade to look forward to tomorrow!"

And - even though James wasn't really as excited as Harry would've been - the thought of getting out of the Castle made James a bit happier.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you liked! I know they played Hufflepuff in the book, but that was only because Slytherin wouldn't play because Malfoy hurt his arm, but he didn't hurt his arm yet in this version so...yeah(: Surprisingly, Quidditch was actually fun to write about! LOL, okay, so please review! I'll get the next chapter out soon because guess what? IT'S THE MARAUDER'S MAP CHAPTER! And I LOVE the Weasley Twins, and (Author says in a singsong voice) they're about to meet their idols! They're about to meet their idols! Haha, okay, the more reviews I get = the faster the next chapter is out!<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


	10. 10: The Marauder's Map

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: I. Have. Been. Waiting. So. Long. To. Write. This. MARAUDERS CENTRAL! Lol, thank you for all the support and keep the reviews coming! Oh, and it's official; once I've finished writing this story, I'm going to write one about what happened to Harry when he went to the Marauder's Era:) I'll let you know what happens with that:) I also think that I might continue this story on through Goblet of Fire (as I would LOVE to see James battle that dragon!) but I haven't decided yet:P Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions for THIS plot, let me know! Thanks a milion!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Ten: The Marauder's Map<span>

"Fair warning, Hermione, if Snape's teaching again today, we're skipping."

James, Ron, and Hermione were on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They were all looking forward to the Hogsmeade trip later in the week, but James and Ron had _no_ intention of being taught by Snape today.

"Oh, _honestly_!" Hermione huffed. "Fine! I'll go see who's in there."

"Thanks." James said, smirking. Hermione rolled her eyes, and peered through the doorway of the classroom. She turned around - a smile on her face - and said, "It's okay!"

Both smiling madly, James and Ron raced into Remus's classroom, and took seats in the front of the room, being sure to avoid Malfoy's stupid interpritation of James falling off his broom.

Remus looked awful, but after a full moon, that was only to be expected. He seemed perfectly cheerful as he listened to the class's many complaints about Snape.

As most of them were from James.

"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?"

"We don't know anything about werewolves —"

"— two rolls of parchment!"

"_Werewolves_!" James huffed. "Honestly, the _nerve_-"

"Did you tell Professor Snape that we haven't covered them yet?" Remus asked, looking pointedly at James, but frowning in general.

"Yes, but he said we were really behind —"

"— he wouldn't listen —"

"— two rolls of parchment!"

"_Werewolves_!" James growled. "I swear, I will _hex him so badly he'll-_"

"Now, there'll be no need for that, _Harry_." Remus said, almost like a warning to James. "I'll talk to Professor Snape; you don't have to do the essay."

"Oh no," said Hermione, looking very disappointed. "I've already finished it!"

"You know," James whispered to Hermione. "I don't suppose anyone's ever told you this - being as Wormtail and I are dead and Padfoot's been in prison - but you and Moony over there are extremely alike."

"Really?" Hermione asked, her face lighting up considerably.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Oh, _Merlin_ help us."

James snickered, and turned back to Moony, who was pulling out a glass tank with a Hinkypunk in it. As he'd already studied them, James didn't even have to listen to Moony; he knew _all_ about Hinkypunks...especially since he and Sirius had infested the Great Hall with them last year.

When the bell rang, everyone jumped out of their seats, but Remus said, "Harry, would you stay behind a moment, please?"

James's face lit up; he'd be getting out of at _least_ a bit of potions by talking to Remus. He hung back while everyone else exited the room. When they were the only ones left, the student-teacher act dropped, and Remus grinned at James.

"How angry are _you_?" Remus asked, sitting on his desk like he always had when he was a boy.

"Bout what?" James asked.

"I heard about your...er, _Harry's_ broom. Flew into the Willow, did it?" Remus asked.

James rolled his eyes. "_Moony!_" he complained. "I'd gone a whole _hour_ without thinking about it!"

"Sorry to bring up such a painful topic." Remus said, rolling his eyes. "It's not even _your_ broom, James...why're you so upset?"

"Huh!" James complained. "If Sirius was here, he'd strangle you! It doesn't matter who's _broom_ it is, Moony! The point is, that it's a beautiful piece of art that didn't deserve such an awful fate! Bloody _tree_!"

Remus laughed. "Merlin I've missed you, Prongs."

"I thought you would've been more upset about Malfoy catching the Snitch." Remus commented, raising his eyebrows.

"_MOONY!_" shouted James. "What, is it pick-on-James day? What's with the bad topics of conversations?"

Remus laughed again. "Just small talk."

"I'd settle for talking about the _weather_, thanks." James huffed, causing Remus to laugh even harder.

"Fine then, how's the weather?"

"_Awful_." James said. "This is _horrid_ Quidditch weather! And Snape's a _right foul git_, you know that?"

"Whoa!" Remus said suddenly. "What's with the sudden subject change?"

"Does it matter?" James practically growled. "He knows! The git _knows_ that about your furry little problem, Remmy! And he's trying to get the students to find out! I'll _kill_ him!"

"We almost did." Remus said, looking down.

"...What?" James asked, his tone softening considerably.

"That's how he found out about me." Remus sighed. "Sirius told him about the knob in the Willow, the one that stops the branches. Snape went there on a full moon, and saw me transform. _You_ saved him, Prongs."

"_Me_?" James asked in disbelief. "_I_ saved that good-for-nothing's neck, and he _still_ has it out for Harry?"

"I don't think he'll ever actually _forgive_ you for the years of torture, James." Remus laughed. "I just think that you're little heroic act stopped him from actually _killing_ you. Do you think that Snape is actually _capable_ of forgiveness?"

"Forgiveness." James Jamse huffed. "I don't need that slimy grease ball's _forgiveness_ - he deserved everything that came his way!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Be that as it may, it doesn't make him like you _or_ Harry any more."

James rolled his eyes as well. "Whatever. I've got to go, mate; I reckon if I get detention for being late to Potions, Minnie won't let me go to Hogsmeade."

"You're not supposed to be going anyway." Remus said. "No one's signed your form, and with Sirius still out there-"

"You really think he'll attack _me_?" James asked, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "And I don't _need_ a bloody form signed, Moony; I've been using the One-Eyed-Witch passage the last two trips."

"Fine." Remus sighed. Then, he smiled, and said, "Have fun in Potions, Prongsie."

James turned around, trying to ignore the hurt feeling inside of him, for it had been _Sirius_ who'd come up with that annoying version of 'Prongs' and James _really_ missed his own time.

* * *

><p>James practically skipped down the corrider as he made his way to the One-Eyed-Witch passageway. Everyone else had already left for Hogsmeade, so James was free to go about the Castle un-noticed, though he <em>did<em> have his Invisibilty Cloak with him - just in case.

No one was around...so it goes without saying that James was scared out of his wits when the Weasley Twins jumped out behind the statue of the One-Eyed-Witch and pulled him back there.

"We've got a bit of a surprise for you, Harry." Twin 1, Fred, said with a smile on his face.

"Bit of an early Christmas present." Twin 2, George, added.

"What?" James asked eagerly, knowing he would love _anything_ that the Weasley Twins had to give him.

"D'you got it, Georgie?" Fred asked his brother.

"Right here!" George said triumphantly, retrieving the parchment from his robes and handing it to James.

To a Muggle or _anyone_ else for that matter, there would be nothing abnormal about the piece of parchment in James's hands. But to James-

"MERLIN!" he yelled happily. "NO WAY! HOW IN THE _WORLD_ DID YOU TWO GET THE MAP?"

"You know what it is?" Fred asked, obviously confused and taken aback.

"Of course!" James shouted, pulling his wand from his robed. He tapped the map once, said, "I solomnely swear that I am up to no good." and watched with a gleeful expression on his face as the introduction made itself known in a curling ink.

"How'd you _know_ that?" Both Twins asked at the same time.

But James ignored them, staring happily at the Map. "How'd you guys get it?" he asked.

"Knicked it from Filch's office." Fred said absently.

"First year." George added.

"Not bad." James approved.

"Do you know how it works?" Fred asked, scraping to tell James _something_ he didn't already know.

"'Course I do." James said happily. "Shows everyone in Hogwarts, what they're doing, every minute of every day."

"Yeah." George said. "See, here I am...and here's Fred...and..."

"What?" Fred asked, noticing how pale George had gone.

"Yeah? What?" James smirked, trying to look innocent but failing horribly.

"What, Georgie?" Fred asked, taking the map. He looked down to see what George was so nervous about, and he paled, too.

"There's got to be a mistake." George said.

"The Marauder's Map never lies." James assured the boys, not really caring - and actually excited - that they knew the truth.

"James Potter?" they both asked together.

"At your service." James grinned, bowing.

"But- but-" George stuttered, Fred at a loss for words.

"I can't tell you _how_ many times I've explained this." James sighed. "I know, I know, I'm _dead_. But I - somehow - went through a serious case of time travel and came here. Harry's in my time. Any questions? Oh, sorry, don't have time."

"You're _really_ James Potter?" Fred asked, finally regaining his voice.

"You can check the Map." James shrugged. "It never lies."

"We know." George said, almost reverantly. "Ah, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs...we owe them _so_ much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," Fred solomnely agreed.

"Why thank you." James smirked. "We try."

Both boys looked up at him with dumbstruck expressions on their faces.

"What?" they gasped, looking as though they were about to kiss the ground James stood on.

"What did you say, James?" Fred asked eagerly, his face _already_ lighting up.

"Well, you _could_ call me that." James shrugged. "Prongs _is _a new nickname, after all...didn't expect it to catch on _quite_ so quickly."

"Y-You're _Prongs_?" Fred sputtered.

"_The_ Prongs?" George breathed.

James smiled broadly, and the Twins fell to their knees in front of them and shot the questions and comments out faster than James cared to answer them.

"You're a _GOD_!"

"Who's Padfoot?"

"Why the nicknames?"

"Did _you_ personally write the map?"

"What gave you the idea?"

"We are not worthy of thy presence, oh great Marauder!"

"Who's Moony?"

"Is it true that you managed over five hundred and fifty two detentions before your third year?"

"Did _you_ create the seven secret passageways?"

"Is it true that _you're_ the reason McGonagall has that anti-levitation curse on her hat?"

"Who's Wormtail?"

"PLEASE, TEACH US WHAT YOU KNOW!"

"I would've stopped you earlier, but being as I've never been called a _god_ before, I was rather enjoying that." James laughed.

"No _wonder_ you were headed this way-"

"-if you were trying to get to Hogsmeade!"

"You _obviously_ know about this passageway-"

"-I'm truly at a loss for words. This is easily the greatest experience of my young life."

"Will you sign my broom?" Fred asked quickly.

"Will you sign my head?" George added.

"Will you sign my shirt?"

"Will you sign my brother?"

"Boys, boys, _enough_." James laughed. "We'll have plenty of time to talk later, but I _would _like to get to Hogsmeade _before_ nightfall."

"Yes, Master!" the Twins yelled at the same time.

And James thought the entire time, _"Moony, Padfoot, and Wormtail would have busted veins laughing at that. Why did I have to have that experience alone?"_

* * *

><p>"Want to go get a Butterbeer?" Ron asked, as he, James, and Hermione made their way through the snowy streets of Hogsmeade.<p>

"Sure." Jams said. "I'm _freezing_."

"Yes." Hermione agreed. "Though I expect Ron only wants to go to see Madame Rosmerta - he _fancies_ her!"

"Not true." Ron grumbled, going slightly pink.

"Hey, it's nothing to be embarrased about, mate." James laughed. "Sirius fancied her, too."

Laughing, the trio made their way into the Three Broomsticks, and ordered three Butterbeers. They sat at a table for nearly an hour, talking and laughing. James felt like he was with Sirius and Remus, in a weird way - he and Harry seemed to have the same taste in friends.

"And then, Harry stabbed it with the Sword of Gryffindor!" Ron concluded, happy at his version of how Harry killed a Basilisk in his second year.

"That's brilliant!" James exclaimed, his pride for his son overwhelming.

"And dangerous." Hermione muttered lowly, though she was very plainly smiling.

A sudden, cold breeze shook the place as the door was opened. James let out a not-so-quiet swear, and thrust the Inivisbilty Cloak over him, Ron, and Hermione. The act came just in time, as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Hagrid, and Cornelious Fudge entered the pub, ordered their drinks, and sat down at the table right next to the three friends.

James saw Fudge offer Madame Rosmerta a seat, and found himself strangely intrigued by their conversation.

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" Madame Rosmerta asked.

"What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school?" Fudge asked in a quiet voice. James knew that they were talking about Sirius's trying to break in. He winced as he thought of how hated his best mate was.

"I did hear a rumor," admitted Madam Rosmerta.

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" said McGonagall exasperatedly.

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"I'm sure of it," said Fudge shortly.

_"I doubt it."_ James thought. _"Sirius was there, but he's not stupid...he wouldn't linger, not with all these people after him."_

"You know that the Dementors have searched the whole village twice?" said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice that James recognized all too well - she often used it when Sirius and him had too much Butterbeer and ended up spilling the contents of their glasses all over her 'nice clean floor!' "Scared all my customers away… It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge uncomfortably. James had to fight back a snort - if it was completely up to Fudge, James knew that the Dementors would be teaching _classes_. "Necessary precaution… unfortunate, but there you are… I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore — he won't let them inside the castle grounds."

"I should think not," said McGonagall sharply. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"

"Hear, hear!" squeaked Flitwick, whose feet were dangling a foot from the ground.

"All the same," said Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse…We all know what Black's capable of…"

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought…I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."

_"She would have."_ James thought. _"She loves it when we come in here in my time. She thinks we're a hilarious double-act..."_

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity. "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I certainly do," said Fudge.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?"

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

_"Oh not this again!"_ James thought sadly. _"Moony already told me about my best friend's betrayal...must I hear it again from unkinder mouths?"_

"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here — ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

_"Ha! I so called that one!"_

"Precisely," said McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course — exceptionally bright, in fact — but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers —"

_"No, you haven't. But I thank you greatly for remembering us, Minnie!"_

"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."

_"Now I don't know about _that _Hagrid. They're good, but did they beat the Hogwarts detention record before their third year? Me thinks _not_!"_

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Flitwick. "Inseparable!"

_"We_ are _brothers. Or, er, _were_ brothers...we are in _my _time...and we will be in this time too, if I have anything to say about it."_

"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

_"It shouldn't be that way. Harry should be calling Sirius 'Uncle Padfoot'."_

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

_"I still refuse to believe that - not unless Moldy Shorts put Sirius under the Imperius Curse."_

"Worse even than that, m'dear…" Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest. Flitwick cleared his throat.

"An immensely complex spell," he said squeakily, "involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find — unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

_"Duh. You just said we were brothers - why _wouldn't _I have trusted him?"_

"Naturally," said McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself… and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.

"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"

_"I did."_

"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed —"

"Black betrayed them?" breathed Madam Rosmerta.

_"Why did this happen? Why me, why us? What did we ever do that was so bad, huh? Or bad enough for _this_ to be our fate?"_

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colours as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it —"

"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet.

"Shh!" said McGonagall.

"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead… an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.

_"He was white and shaking? Something doesn't add up here...if he betrayed us, why would he have been so worried?"_

"Hagrid, please!" begged McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him —' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says.

"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him.

"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to em anymore…"

_"No. No, that doesn't make sense...he was white and shaking...he was laughing when the Ministry took him away...and I know he only does that when he's upset..."_

A long silence followed Hagrid's story, thought James hardly noticed. He was too caught up in his own thoughts to concentrate on much else. However, Madam Rosmerta's voice snapped him back into reality, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!"

"Alas, if only we had," said Fudge bitterly. "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew —another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew… that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta.

_"Nicely put, Rosmerta, _really_."_

"Hero — worshipped Black and Potter," said McGonagall.

_"Now I won't argue with _that_."_

"-Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I — how I regret that now…" McGonagall had begun crying, and James was sure he'd never seen his Transfiguration teacher so upset. But then, tears were pricking his own eyes, as well.

"There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses — Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later — told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens…"

_"Sirius...I know Peter used to annoy you a bit, but blow him to smithereens? How could you!"_

McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy… foolish boy… he was always hopeless at dueling… should have left it to the Ministry…"

_"Yeah, you _should _have Peter! Why'd you have to die, too? You were third in line to take Harry! If you would have just let Sirius be, maybe Harry wouldn'tve ended up at the Dursley's!"_

"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't've messed around with wands — I'd 've ripped him limb — from — limb," Hagrid growled.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," said Fudge sharply. "Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I — I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him… a heap of bloodstained robes and a few — a few fragments —"

James couldn't listen to it anymore. Motioning to Ron and Hermione that he was getting up, he led them briskly out of the pub. Once the cool, evening air bit his cheeks, James whipped the Invisibility Cloak off of Ron and Hermione, and took off on his own.

_"I'm going to find you, Sirius." _James thought bitterly. _"And you're going to wish I hadn't!"_

* * *

><p><strong>I KNOW that that ENTIRE conversation was taken straight from the book, but THAT's why I added all of James's thoughts; I couldn't really changed what they said, and I wanted James to hear them, even though he already knew most of what they were going to say. So in your review, don't get mad that I copied <em>that <em>from the book - it had to be done. Anywhoo, let me know what you think! Oh, and if you have any James, Sirius, Remus, Harry, and/or Lily fics [maybe time travel, or coming back from the dead, or just some fluff...but prefferably no slash please:)] that you'd like to recommend, I'm looking for a good read tonight:) Okay, that's it! Review, please!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	11. 11: The Firebolt

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: I am so sorry! PLEASE don't hate me! MY LAPTOP BROKE /3 I was so devastated and I only just got permission from my dad to use his computer to update fanfiction! I PROMISE that I'm not abandoning ANY of my stories - in fact, I'm typing out at least one chapter for EVERY single one of my stories before the night is up:( I've had so many ideas for all of my fics that I haven't gotten to use yet but now I do so please don't hate me - so sorry! Hope this chapter makes up for it!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Eleven: The Firebolt<span>

It was only when James was in the middle of the forest, all alone, that he realized he had absolutely no idea what he was planning to do.

_How_ many times had he already gone looking for Sirius? And _how_ many times had he already failed? Just because he had renewed fervor didn't mean that it would be any easier to find the dog Animagus - it was still bloody near impossible.

When he'd first run off, he'd heard Ron and Hermione chasing after him. But after a while, they had given up. James didn't blame them; he knew it probably wasn't easy tracking an upset wizard who happens to own an Invisibilty Cloak.

James was tired; he'd already had an extremely long day. He tore the Cloak off of himself, and sat down on a stump. He had no idea how long it had been since he'd run from the Three Broomsticks, and he still wasn't sure why he'd done that - he'd heard the entire story before. Remus had told him everything - why was it hitting him as though this was the first time he'd been told of the past events? James reasoned that perhaps it was because he heard them again, but he knew that even _that_ couldn't have been the whole reason. Regardless, James wasn't in the best of moods.

And that was when it hit him.

_Moony!_ James thought suddenly. _Of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner? If anyone can help me, Remus can!_

And so, heart already becoming happier, James made his way back to Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>James was surprised how late it was - almost midnight. Had he been sulking in the woods for <em>that <em>many hours?

Anyways, James was still under the Invisibility Cloak, and he was tip-toeing his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom - since James had the Map, he knew that Remus was definitely _not _in bed - he was still in his room for some reason. Maybe his Marauders Sense was tingling and he knew James needed help?

James finally made it to Moony's room, and didn't bother to knock. He let himself in like he owned the place (as any Marauder would have) and smiled broadly at the confused look on Remus's face when the door seemed to swing open on its own. James threw the Cloak off himself, and laughed as Moony breathed a sigh of relief.

"Blimme James, I'd almost forgotten you were here!" Remus gasped.

"S'odd." James muttered. "It's not like _you _to forget things, Moony."

"Well, when you've been...well, _dead _for twelve years, it's perfectly understandable that I'm still not used to the idea of you being back." Remus defended.

James laughed - being with Moony was _already _making him feel better. "Anything to keep from being _wrong, _huh Remus?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Prongs."

James took a seat in one of the front desks, right next to where Remus was grading papers.

"Oh! You're grading _Malfoy's?_ Lemme see, lemme see!" James eagerly grabbed the parchment from his friend's hands, and looked at the top for his grade. "_What?_" James gasped. "You _passed _him? Aw, c'mon, what kind of Marauder are _you?_ Fail him, fail him, fail him!"

Remus laughed, and grabbed the parchment back from James. "I can't exactly _fail _a student if he had all the answers right, James."

"Probably cheated anyways." James muttered.

"Like you and Sirius did on your Transfiguration Exam?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Hey!" James defended. "As I explained to you _when it happened, _we were doing the school a favor - we simply showed them that their anti-cheating charms were faulty!"

Remus rolled his eyes again. "And as I explained to _you _when it happened - it still wasn't right."

"Goody-Two-Shoes-Lupin." James muttered.

Remus whacked him on the back of the head.

"_Ow!_" James complained loudly, rubbing the spot that his friend had hit. "What was that for?"

Remus only laughed.

"You know, that's against the law, Moony! You're abusing a student! CHILD ABUSE!" James yelled.

"Oh, shut it!" Remus complained. "You sound like a banshee when you screech."

James laughed. "So...when's the next full moon, Moony?"

"Not anytime soon." Remus shrugged.

"Well, what're your plans for it?" James persisted eagerly.

"Uh...sleeping in my office?" Remus offered uncertainly.

"_What?_" James asked, horrified. "You mean full moons are _boring_ now? Huh. Never thought I'd live to see the - oh."

Remus suddenly looked sad and muttered a pathetic, "You're an idiot, do you know that?"

James forced himself to chuckle, but the unintentional reminder of his death wasn't making it easy to seem happy. "I've always known that, but I think it adds to my boyish charm."

"What 'charm'?" Remus asked.

"That was a bit below the belt, don't you think?" James challenged.

The rest of the evening was spent with laughs and screeches coming from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom - and that was exactly what James had been aiming for. He wanted some time with one of his best friends to forget all the pain that coming to the future brought. But there was _one_ thing in the back of his miind that refused to leave him be - if James was _here_...then where on Earth was Harry? Or, more, accurately..._when_?

* * *

><p>"OI! JAMES! WAKE UP! PRESENTS!"<p>

James woke up on Christmas morning to the sound of Ron's screeching. That was one good thing about staying at Hogwarts on the Christmas Holidays for James - they didn't need to be quite so careful with his cover. With most of the students gone, he was free to act...well, _not _act like his son, whom he didn't even know.

James pushed his glasses on his face quickly, and followed Ron to the common room. Ron tore open his first package quickly, revealing an ugly Maroon sweater that had been knitted by his mother.

James was surprised that he'd gotten any presents at all, but he had. Molly had sent him a scarlet sweater with the Gryffindor lion knitted on the front, and also a dozen home-baked mince pies, some Christmas cake, and a box of nut brittle. As James moved all of these aside, he saw another present meant for him.

It was long, quite long, and wrapped in a tender brown paper. James knew what it would be before he even opened it a bit - it was a broomstick. And by the feel of it, it was a _good_ one.

"What's that?" Ron asked, throwing his own sweater on the nearest chair and scooting closer to James.

James beamed. "I think I have an idea..."

James - without further adieu - tore the paper off of his gift and gasped in wonder and awe. It was _wonderful_, it was _perfect_, it was the _Firebolt_ racing broom!

James remembered the beautiful broom he'd seen in Diagon Alley just a few months before - how he'd _longed_ for that wonderful piece of tree. But to actually _possess _it...it was like he'd died and gone to...well, it was like a joy he'd never experienced before in his life.

"Who sent it to you?" muttered Ron, who was still staring transfixed at the broom.

"Dunno." James shrugged, running his hand along the length of the handle. "But I bloody love whoever did...bloody love 'em with a passion..."

"Doesn't look like there's a card." Ron said, but it didn't sound as though he cared much about that bit. He was still staring at the broom. "This must've cost a fortune, though...who'd spend that much on Harry?"

"Fifty galleons it _wasn't _Vernon Dursley." James chuckled.

Ron laughed, too. "Coulda been Dumbledore." he suggested. "It was him that sent Harry your Invisibility Cloak first-year."

"Yeah, but he didn't have to spend any money on that and, quite honestly, I _can't _see Dumbledore doing that." James said.

"Maybe Lupin, then?" Ron suggested.

James thought for a moment. "More likely him than Dumbledore or a Durlsey, but I still don't think so. I mean, I love Moony and all, but he doesn't have much money - he knows it's me, and he knows that I understand that. He wouldn't spend any money on me."

At that moment, Hermione entered the room, carrying her devil of a cat.

"Happy Christmas!" she said brightly.

"Get that cat out of here!" Ron shrieked. He'd only just pulled Scabbers out of his pocket, and he didn't have any desire to have to put him away for fear that he'd get eaten.

"Hang on," James said, staring transfixed at the rat that Ron was holding. This was the first time he'd seen Ron's pet. "That's Scabbers, there?"

"Yeah...pathetic, isn't he?" said Ron, offering his pet to James.

"Let me see him." James muttered, the Firebolt all but forgotten on the ground.

Hermione set Crookshanks on the couch, and sat down next Ron and James. "What is it?" she asked.

"I know this rat." James said. "He's so...familiar."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, sounding concerned.

"But...it _can't _be..." James muttered, turning Scabbers over in his hands. "He's _dead..." _

"Who's dead?" asked Ron.

"What happened to his toe?" James asked, gesturing to the missing toe on the rat.

"Fight with another rat, I reckon. He's been alive long enough." Ron shrugged. "Why? What's the big deal?"

"Hang on." James said, suddenly determined. "Don't put him away. I've just got to get something from my trunk. I'll be back in _two _minutes."

* * *

><p>"Here we are." James said, entering the Common Room once again. "Ron, give me Scabbers."<p>

Ron reluctantly handed James the rat again, and James unfolded the Marauder's Map.

"I solomnely swear that I am up to no good." James said, tapping the map with his wand.

Instantly, the ink swirled onto the parchment, and James scanned the map until he reached his little dot labeled 'James Potter'. Next to him was 'Hermione Granger'. Beside him was 'Ronald Weasely'.

And right on top of him was the thought-to-be-dead-for-twelve-years 'Peter Pettigrew'.

* * *

><p><strong>DUN DUN DUN! CLIFFHANGER! I hope you enjoyed this chapter:) I might be able to upload again tomorrow night, but if I don't, it's just because my laptop's still busted and I can't get ahold of this one:P But my birthday is coming up in a week so maybe I'll get a new one! :D Anywhoo, until then, review!<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


	12. 12: The Patronus

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback! Now is officially when we kind of detatch from the book, because you can _tell _that things are going to end up quite differently:) Oh, and to answer some questions: Harry is in James's time. I'm thinking about doing a sister fic, which shows what he's doing there. But it probably won't be in this one:) As for when James goes back, that is yet to be determined. I kind of want to extend this through Goblet of Fire (and maybe OotP...I think that would be _especially _interesting if you added James:) ) but I wanna hear what you guys think:) Okay, so enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twelve: The Patronus<span>

And right on top of him was the thought-to-be-dead-for-twelve-years 'Peter Pettigrew'.

For a minute, James didn't say a word. Hermione asked him several times what was wrong, but he didn't answer. He _couldn't _answer...

_Wormtail is dead. He was murdered. By Sirius._

_Padfoot killed Wormtail._

_Peter was very hurt by Sirius's betrayal._

_He barely managed the words, "James and Lily, Sirius, how could you?" before Sirius blasted the street apart._

_He went after Black himself._

_Blew Pettigrew to smitherenes..._

James barely registered when Hermione took the Marauder's Map from his hands. James heard her and Ron gasp when they read who was with them.

"What? But...that's not possible." Ron choked out.

"No. No way. He'd have to be-" Hermione began, but James beat her to the punch.

"An Animgaus." he whispered.

"But James, I checked the records for our homework last month, and Peter Pettigrew wasn't-"

"He was an illegal Animagus. So was I." James explained dismissively. "Peter?" James asked hesitantly, now looking to the rat who was still squirming in his hands. "Wormtail, is that really you?"

James - knowing quite well that the rat couldn't answer - picked up his wand once again. He muttered a simple revealing spell under his breath, and watched in utter astonishment as the rat began to grow.

Then, before himself, Hermione, and Ron, Peter Pettigrew looked up.

"Don't kill me!" he begged, putting his hands in front of his face.

"Wormtail, Wormtail, I'm not going to-" James began, but Petter squirmed away from his old friend.

"No, stop, leave me alone!" he squeeled.

"Peter, please-" James said, offering his hand. "I've got to talk to you!"

"No, you're not here!" Peter insisted. "Y-You're dead!"

"I know!" James practically growled. "But then so are you, so you've no room to talk!"

Peter suddenly looked up, and stared at James with an odd expression on his face. "W-What?" he sputtered.

"Everyone thinks your dead." James said, swallowing. "Everyone thinks that-that Padfoot killed you."

"Is-Is it really you, James? But how are you back?" Peter stuttered.

"I'm not." James explained, glad that Peter was calming down a bit. "I'm not from...from this _time._"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Peter choked out.

"Time travel." James chuckled. "But what else would you expect from a Marauder, eh?"

"Y-You mean you don't _hate _me?" Peter asked.

"No?" James responded, confused. "Why would I? It's not _your _fault that all of this happened, Wormtail...but come to think of it, how _are _you here? I thought Sirius killed you?"

"H-He tried to." Peter croaked, cowering back into the corner further, as though with a memory. "But I transformed quickly, and scurried away with the other sewer rats. In all the madness, he probably believes that I _am _dead."

"What aren't you being honest about, Wormtail?" James asked speculatively. Peter - unlike the other three Marauders - had always been a _terrible _liar; James had a hard time believing his old friend's story, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked, his eyes widening in fear. "What are you talking about?"

James chuckled once. "You've always been an awful liar, Wormtail. If you're telling the truth, then why don't I believe you?"

"P-Please James, you _have _to believe me, please!" Peter begged.

"Hang on!" Ron said suddenly. "Are you trying to tell me that _Scabbers, _my pet rat for _twelve bloody years..._isn't a rat at all?"

"Wow, Ron." Hermione said sharply. "A little slow today?"

"It's a lot to take in!" Ron defended. "I'm having a hard time believing it!"

"I think we should see Remus about this." James decided. "He'd know what to do better than-"

"NO!" Peter yelled suddenly, collapsing at James's feet. "No, no, James, you _can't! _Remus he's-he's in league with Sirius! He'll try to kill me the moment he knows I'm alive!"

"Nonsense!" James exclaimed. "He seemed devastated when he told me about your death! He'd be thrilled to see you!"

"I-I don't think he would." Peter said quietly, looking down.

"Well I'm seeing him about this whether you want me to or not, Wormtail, so you've nothing to worry about." James insisted. Then, because he still wasn't sure he believed Peter's story, he added, "You've nothing to fear if you've nothing to hide."

These words did not comfort Peter, James noticed, because Wormtail seemed to grow paler. James told Peter to transform back into a rat, and - though reluctantly - Peter obeyed. James took Peter in his hands, told Ron and Hermione that he'd be back later, and set off to Remus's classroom.

* * *

><p>"James!" Remus shouted happily when James entered the classroom. "Happy Christmas!"<p>

"You too." James said quickly. Remus seemed to notice James's tense mood.

"Prongs, what is it?" Remus asked.

"I've something to show you," James said. "Something you probably won't believe."

"Yes, what is it?" Remus asked; his curiosity was growing.

"Right here," James began. "Right now...all four of the Marauders are alive."

Remus swore his heart stopped for a moment. There was a beat of dead silence. "Wh-what?" Remus stuttered.

James took Peter from his coat pocket, and transformed him back into a man. Remus stared at him in disbelief.

"Peter?" Remus asked. "Wormtail?"

Peter didn't seem to have a clue as to what to say. He simply nodded.

"What? How? I thought Sirius..." Remus trailed off, looking back and forth between James and Peter.

"I transformed before he could," Peter muttered quietly. "I got away."

"But then why haven't you shown yourself before now?" Remus asked inquisitively, raising his eyebrow.

"I was scared!" Peter yelled suddenly. "I didn't know what to do! I didn't know Sirius had been captured! I thought he'd come back for me!"

"But weren't you the pet of a wizarding family, Wormtail?" James asked. "Wouldn't you have noticed _something _about Sirius's capture?"

"I honestly didn't pay much attention!" Peter squeeled like a pig. "I was so, so nervous..."

"It just doesn't add up," James whispered to Remus while Peter was still cowering in a corner.

"What?" Remus asked.

"Not long ago, I was in the Three Broomsticks. I overheard the Minister and some professors talking about this whole mess. They fervently believe that Sirius killed Peter. But Hagrid also said that Sirius was 'white and shakin''" James did a weak imitation of Hagrid's voice, but it didn't earn him the strained chuckle he'd been hoping for. "And if Sirius was betraying us, why would he have been so nervous?"

"Maybe because of You-Know-Who's defeat?" Remus wondered quietly. "Any number of reasons. Maybe he was sick, or-"

"Remus, honestly!" James snapped. "You're supposed to be the smart one, here!"

"I'm trying to be realistic. What am I supposed to think? This time last year, I was the last Marauder. This year, you waltz into my room and tell me that we're all here, alive. I don't have all the answers, James!" Remus said angrily, pulling his hair.

"Well don't tell me that you can't tell that he's lying about some things," James said, gesturing to the still scared-out-of-his-mind Peter.

"I can tell," Remus admitted. "But maybe that's just because he's nervou-"

"No." James said firmly. "Look, I've got someplace to go. Can you keep Peter with you for a bit? But...just don't leave him out of your sight, alright? I'm still not one hundred percent sure I trust him."

Remus sighed. "Alright," he said. "But don't be long, okay? And where are you going?"

"I won't be," James assured his friend. "And I'm going to the Shrieking Shack."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: NOT THE END OF THE CHAPTER! But that would have been an awesome cliffy, huh? Well, I haven't read PoA in a while, so I'm not sure if JK mentioned where Sirius was at Christmas, but for the purposes of this story, we'll say the Shrieking Shack, okay? And to clear up any confusion, James doesn't have the map right now - he left it with Ron and Hermione. He DOES have his Cloak, though...would he ever go anywhere without it? (: Okay, so this chapter and probably the next two will be in the Shrieking Shack with the Marauders (all of them!) and maybe some others. Pretty much just that scene in the book we all know and love, just sooner (: Oh, and I HAVE decided to continue this to GoF, but I'll probably just keep it as one big story - not gonna make it two (: Okay, I'm done rambling! Sirius fans, READ ON!**

* * *

><p>James transformed back from his Animagus. He was standing outside the Whomping Willow. He carefully slipped the Invisibility Cloak over himself, hit the knob in the trunk of the tree that stopped the deadly branches from swinging, and headed down the tunnel.<p>

James hadn't been in the Shrieking Shack much - the Marauders had only just perfected their Animagus forms, so they hadn't spent many full moons together as of yet. But he still knew his way around well enough so as not to get lost. He knew when he was getting close and then, finally, he was there. He carefully opened the door that led to a shabby little bedroom, and looked around. He hoped that his gut feeling was right.

And he felt like doing a victory dance. There, lying on a torn and beaten old bed, was a large black dog.

James quickly took his wand from his robes, and quietly threw the Cloak off of himself. He didn't want Sirius to wake up - yet.

James pointed his wand at the dog, just in case, and was about to say something -

When a scream from below woke the dog up first.

"OUCH!" Someone screamed. "HERMIONE, WATCH IT! THAT'S MY BAD LEG! OWWWW!"

The dog woke up at once, and scanned the room quickly. As soon as he saw James's wand pointed at him, he transformed into Sirius.

"What are they _doing _here?" James growled in frustration to himself. Not a minute later, Hermione and Ron entered the shabby little room. Hermione was half-carrying Ron, who's leg was badly injuried.

"Whare you two _doing _here?" James demanded, eyes still on the nearly unrecognizable Sirius.

"You left the map!" Hermione huffed. "And we didn't want you to do something stupid! We _had _to follow you, didn't we?"

"No, you didn't!" James yelled. "And what happened to Ron?"

"That tree is bloody evil!" Ron shrieked.

"That's why it was put there at all!" James groaned in frustration. "To keep people from going where they're not supposed to!"

Hermione and Ron finally seemed to notice Sirius, and both of them cowered to the corner in fear.

"Now then," James said, adressing Sirius. "I have questions. I need answers. I have a wand. You don't."

To James's utter surprise, Sirius began to laugh. "Going to kill me, Harry?" he croaked.

James felt saddened and hurt. Thinking back on how Sirius used to be, he couldn't beileve what had come of his friend.

"You are the reason that Lily and James Potter are-are dead." James tripped over the words, and forced them out. "Do you deny it?"

Any hope that had unintentionally began building in James's heart shattered when Sirius said solomnely, "No."

"I have been searching for you since the year began," James huffed, closing his eyes in fury. "I have been refusing to believe that it could be true. Now I only have one more question for you, _Padfoot,_" James sneered. "Why? Why would you do that?"

But Sirius didn't answer James. He was staring at him oddly.

"What? Answer me!" James demanded, shoving his wand forward. "I'll - I'll curse you!"

"What did you call me?" Sirius coughed.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Padfoot?" Sirius specified. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Why does it matter?" James demanded. "You don't deserve that name, anymore!"

Suddenly, the door burst open again, and Remus Lupin entered the crowded bedroom. "James, don't!" he yelled.

* * *

><p><strong>...wow. ANOTHER cliffhanger :O Sorry! But I hope you liked this chapter (: It was hard seeing where everyone's standpoint was in this chapter - how James thinks Sirius is the betrayer, Peter assumed James hated him bc he didn't realize James was from the past at first, how Sirius thought James was Harry, and Remus isn't sure what to think! Eek, mouthful! Lol(: But I hope you liked this chapter and pretty please review?(:**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	13. 13: The Truth

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback! This might be the last update for a few days, so I hope the long & emotional chapter makes up for it:) Enjoy & Review! :D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirteen: The Truth<span>

Suddenly, the door burst open again, and Remus Lupin entered the crowded bedroom. "James, don't!" he yelled.

"Remus!" James hissed. Sirius was frozen in shock. "What are you _doing _here?"

"I had to stop you!" Remus panted, stopping for a moment to catch his breath.

"Remus, I told you to stay with Peter! Let _me _handle this!" James said. Throughout all of this, Sirius was unnaturally quiet.

"James, listen to me!" Remus pleaded. "Peter's in my pocket, so-"

"Good!" James said. "Keep him there! Let _me _handle Sirius!"

"James, stop!" Remus screeched, finally reaching his breaking point. He took his wand from his robes and pointed it at James. "You'll regret it if you don't hear me out!"

"Remus?" Sirius croaked, finally seeming to unfreeze.

Remus looked at Sirius for a moment, and spared him a small, sad smile. "Hello, Padfoot. Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Fine." James decided. "You have _two minutes _to tell me what in Merlin's name is going on!"

"Thank you," Remus told James earnestly.

"Remus, why are you calling Harry-?" Sirius began, but Remus held up a hand to silence him.

"In due time, Sirius. Now then," Remus began.

"As soon as you left, I had a little chat with our dear _friend, _Peter. As it turns out, there are a few..._things _I think we should bring to mind, hm?

"Now James, you told me that you didn't believe all of Peter's story. You were right. You also said that you thought something didn't add up with Sirius's concern towards your death. Again, you were right. I brought these things to Peter's attention, and he squirmed around like the little _rat _he is. I think he has some explaining to do. If you would, Peter?"

Remus took the squirming little rat out of his pocket, and transformed him back into a man. Peter looked even paler and more afraid than before.

"James, please, don't b-believe them!" Peter sputtered out.

James risked a glance at Sirius, and decided that he best friend had never look so livid.

"Peter!" Remus snapped angrily. "I have some questions. And you'll answer them!"

"R-Remus, please! This is mad! L-Look! There's Sirius! We have to kill him, Remus, please!" Peter gasped.

"Shut it, Peter!" James said. Then, he turned to Remus. "Ask away."

"Who was Lily and James's Secret-Keeper?" Remus asked the fat, balding man.

"W-What?" Peter asked. "That's ridiculous! Sirius, of course, who else?"

"You _liar!" _Sirius growled. "You know damn _well _that _you _betrayed James and Lily, _didn't _you?"

"I-I didn't mean to!" Peter cried, great tears leaking from his eyes.

"W-What?" James stuttered out, the breath _whooshing _out of him like helium from a balloon.

"The Dark Lord! He made me, James, please, you have to-"

"LIAR!" Sirius yelled. "You were working as a spy for him a _year _before they died!"

"Peter..." James choked. "How _could _you? After all we did for you!"

"James, please, understand-" Peter began, but Sirius and Remus pushed him away from James.

"Get away from him!" Remus spat. He used a spell to bind Peter's hands and feet, and threw him onto the dingy old bed.

"That'll hold you until we get the rest sorted out." Remus said. "And I'm sure the Dementors would be ever so _happy _to meet you, Peter."

Peter squeeled in fright, and Sirius turned back to Remus and James.

"Now what's _this _all about?" he asked hoarsely, looking between James and Remus.

"Sirius..." James choked out. "Y-You didn't betray us?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked. "Harry, listen, I-"

"No." James said suddenly, shaking his head. "Sirius, I'm not-"

"No, let me get this out!" Sirius demanded fiercely. "I didn't betray your parents to _Voldemort, _but I just as good as killed them. I'm the one who thought to make Peter Secret-Keeper, but believe me, James was my best friend, the last thing I wanted to do was-"

"Padfoot!" James yelled. "First off, it _wasn't your fault. _I know that, now. I feel so...so _stupid _to think that you could ever...but that doesn't matter. You can't blame yourself for that, no one knew, no one would have thought...but the other thing you should know is that...I'm not...I'm not Harry."

"What do you mean you're not Harry?" Sirius asked. "Of course you are, I'd know you anyw-"

"You'd know me anywhere?" James challenged. "Hermione, come here a moment, won't you? Could you fix my eyes?"

"Wh-What?" Hermione sputtered, eyeing Sirius nervously.

"The eyes. Make them normal for me please? And get rid of the scar?" James asked. "Don't worry about Sirius, his bark is worse than his bite. Normally."

Hermione still looked scared of Sirius, but she came to James nonetheless. She did the enchantments, and backed away just as quickly.

Looking completely like himself, James looked back at Sirius. "It's me, Padfoot." he said. "James."

"James?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "What are you playing at? I know for a fact that James is-"

"Buried in Godric's Hollow Cemetery, I'd imagine." James said, internally cringing. "But it really is me, Sirius."

"How?" Sirius whispered painfully, refusing to believe that he was seeing James. No. It just couldn't be...it just couldn't.

"I'm not...back from the dead." James admitted sadly. Sirius's face fell greatly. "But," James continued. "It _is _me - James Potter. I think I, er, traveled through time, somehow. That's how I'm here."

"Is it really you?" Sirius asked. "After all this time...is it really you?"

"Shall I prove it, then?" James asked.

Sirius nodded mutely, too shocked for words.

Within a moment, James disappeared with a _'pop'_. In his place was a brilliant, glossy brown stag. He had markings around his eyes that looked suspiciously like James's glasses. He stood there for a moment within all his glory. Just to be sure, Sirius transformed into a big, black dog. He carefully walked over to the stag, and sniffed him. His eyes widened, and he turned back into Sirius. James followed his best mate's lead.

James broke into a wide grin. "Happy Christmas, Padfoot."

"James!" Sirius barked happily, scooping his best mate into the biggest bear hug of his life. Remus joined in and - for a single moment - the world was right.

"James, I am so, so sorr-"

"Don't you _dare _even _finish _that statement, Padfoot." James threatened. "As I said before, it was _not _your fault."

"But Prongs, if it hadn't been for me, then-" Sirius began, but James cut him off again.

"If it hadn't been for you, then we'd have never caught Peter for the lying little rat he is." James said surely.

"But..." Sirius began again. "If you're here...then where's Harry?"

"I don't know." James admitted reluctantly. "Since I'm here, I suppose it's only logical to assume that he's in my time, but-"

"But wouldn't we remember him coming to our time?" Sirius asked. "Unless he didn't tell us?"

"No, he would have told us." Remus guessed. "But I suppose it takes the timeline a while to catch up with us, unless Dumbledore or someone put Memory Charms on us after he left."

"How long?" Sirius asked, a trace of pain in his already hoarse voice.

"Until what?" James asked, relief spreading through every fiber of his being. It had just sunk in -

_Sirius didn't betray us. _

"Until you have to go back. To your time." Sirius finished sadly.

"I don't know," James admitted. "I'm going to try to convince Dumbledore to let me stay as long as I possibly can...when I go back, I'm planning on changing the timeline anyhow, so any mistakes I make won't be permanent."

"I'd still be careful if I were you, James." Remus warned sternly. "If something happens when you go back-"

"Aw, shut it Moony." James whined playfully, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. "You're not my father. And you're saying 'be careful' to _James Potter. _As if that was even _possible._"

And - for the first night in twelve years - Sirius Black broke into an eye-crinkling grin.

"What time _are _you coming to us from, Prongsie?" Sirius asked, hoping with everything in him that it wasn't all a dream that his best mate was standing there, right in front of him.

"Just starting fifth year." James grinned. "Just came up with the nicknames last month."

"Wow." Sirius said. "Nearly _twenty years ago..._bloody hell, I'm old."

"Yeah, you kind of are." James joked. "If I hadn't seen you on the Muggle news, I'd never have believed it was you, Sirius...you spend nearly an _hour _in front of the mirror fixing your hair in my time...Past-You would be ashamed."

"They don't exactly have hair gel in _Azkaban _James," Sirius said. Then he muttered, "And don't _remind _me."

"I've missed you, Sirius." James smiled sadly. "I've missed my time a lot, lately...but this is making me sort of glad to be here."

"_You _missed _me_?" Sirius gaped. "Bloody hell, James, I've been in prison the last twelve years! I think I missed you and Remus a bit more than you missed us!"

James let out a little strained chuckle. "I s'pose you're right, mate."

"Now...what to do with _him?_" Sirius asked, gesturing to the still squirming Peter. "I _would _rather enjoy killing him..."

"But would you really want to become a murderer over _that?_" James asked. "As much as I _loathe _him...he's not worth it."

"Prongs is right, Sirius." Remus said. "And if you kill him, there'll be no way to prove your innocence."

Sirius's eyes suddenly went wide. "My God," he murmured. "I hadn't even thought of that..."

"And we can't exactly 'marauder' if you can't go out in public without being arrested, Padfoot." James joked.

"We'll take him to Dumbledore," Remus decided. "And then let the chips fall where they may."

"I still think he deserves _worse,_" Sirius muttered

"You can let your anger out some other way, Sirius." James grinned.

"How?" Sirius asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Well," James breathed, trying his hardest to lighten the mood. "Snivellus _is _a teacher now..."

"Oh, here we go." Remus sighed, rolling his eyes. "In the midst of all emotion and death, Padfoot and Prongs are going to prank a Slytherin...how _entirely _predictable."

Sirius smiled a huge smile, and James noted that it suddenly made him look fifteen again...

"Shall we have a go at that then sometime, Prongs?" Sirius asked playfully. "For old times' sake?"

"Mr. Padfoot," James smiled. "I'd be delighted."

"Hang on a minute," Ron said suddenly. "You two are already planning on playing a _joke? _I mean, you can ask Hermione - I'm hardly ever serious or smart about things, but isn't it a bit soon?"

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "I mean...er, Mr. Black...for him, it must seem that James has just _come back from the dead _or something, and he seems a bit too okay with it."

**(A/N: Yes, yes, Sirius seems a bit too okay with it...but I take it like this: he was laughing when the Ministry took him away after he tried to attack Peter. He doesn't display emotion very well, at least not to me...in the next chapter, I'll probably have a one-on-one heart-to-heart between the Marauders, (or maybe just Sirius and James) and maybe that'll seem more emotional...but I mean, you've already read twelve chapters worth of James moping over Sirius's 'betrayal', I didn't think you'd want to read another five chapters of Sirius doing the same thing...okay, this is getting long, thanks for listening!)**

Sirius ignored the two young wizards. Because for a moment, he forgot about the hell that Azkaban had been. He forgot about the brutal Dementors and the betrayal of a friend. He'd heard James say that it wasn't his fault. Finally, the burden was lifted off of his shoulders, and for the first time since Halloween of 1981, Sirius was able to _breathe._

* * *

><p><strong>I loved writing this sooooo much! I always look for great James-Comes-Back fics, but have only read two that I like the reactions of his friends:) I tried to make it both funny and emotional to make everyone happy, but as they say, you can't please everyone:) Like I said in the AN above, I know he seems to have accepted James rather quickly, but I hope that my earlier explanation suffices:) Please review - reading them (especially the long ones!) truly and utterly makes my day :D**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	14. 14: The Talk

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: Thank you all for waiting so patiently! I know it's been a while since I updated, but guess what? I got a new lapitop for my birthday! YAY! Expect more frequent updates:) And I was getting kind of bored, so this chapter will have a little something..._extra _to it;) And this chapter concludes Marauder-moping! The guys will be back full force (though Moony rather reluctantly in the pranking department, lol) and I hope that you enjoy the chapter:) And some of you emotional people might want to grab a tissue - this'll be one of my more...er, emotional pieces;)**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Fourteen: The Talk<span>

It wasn't until quite late when everyone was able to calmly sit down and think. Each was more than a little confused and concerned and their heads were pounding with information and memories...

* * *

><p>Peter Pettigrew sat alone in the corner of a cell in the highest tower of Hogwarts. It was only a holding cell, but it was still awful. But Peter wasn't worried as much about the <em>cell. <em>He had yet to meet the Dementors, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Peter hoped that they would just kill him. Just give him the Kiss and be done with it. Peter had never been as strong nor as brave as Sirius, and he knew that he wouldn't survive in Azkaban. He didn't even want to try.

Peter was hardly ever one to feel remorse. He did whatever he had to do to get by in the world. He'd never been smart or strong or brave. So when he came to Hogwarts, he surrounded himself with the _smartest, _the _biggest, _and the _bravest. _When someone better came along, Peter went to him. That was simple enough to understand, was it not?

When Peter had first become a Death Eater, he hadn't felt bad at all. In fact, a sort of thrill went through him the first time he saw the Dark Lord. Voldemort had made him feel so _important, _so _needed, _and those were two things that Peter had never felt before. But as Peter went to more and more Death Eater meetings, he realized that the Dark Lord was making _everyone _feel that way. And the Dark Lord _far _from favored him. Peter had to do something, anything, to make Voldemort see that Peter was worth something. The Dark Lord often disposed of the Death Eaters that were no longer useful. And Peter had been many things, but _never _useful. So when Sirius suggested to James that they use _Peter _as the Secret Keeper, Peter had wasted no time at all in telling Voldemort. And the Dark Lord actually looked _pleased _with Peter. And Peter had smiled.

But at that moment, Peter had also felt a tiny twinge of guilt. For twelve years he'd wondered and wondered _why _he'd felt that twinge. The twinge that appeared when he handed over the Potters. The twinge that had appeared when they'd dragged Sirius away. The twinge that was a new experience every time he'd felt it. Now...now, he knew.

_I put myself in their care for all of my Hogwarts years, _Peter thought. _I hadn't meant to, but I'd grown close to them. I didn't want friends. I didn't really need them. But I needed protection, and they were the best there was. Along the way, though, I guess we sort of _did _become friends. I saw it tonight; they had trusted me. _

Peter fought these thoughts away. He didn't need to think them. He needed to get out of this cell and he needed to find the Dark Lord.

It was only _then_ that Pettigrew remembered his Animagus...

* * *

><p>"Bloody tree," Ron scowled again, trying to move his leg over a bit. He was in a bed in the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomphrey had given him a potion to take the edge off the pain, but it still stung. Hermione slapped Ron's hand before it even touched his cast.<p>

"Don't touch it!" she said, eyeing Ron sharply.

"I'm just moving it!" Ron defended.

"Madame Pomphrey said not to touch it," Hermione insisted. She moved Ron's hand back to his side.

"Must you always do what you're told?" Ron challenged the bushy haired brunette, raising an eyebrow.

"...Yes." Hermione said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Although," she laughed. "Alright, I did do _something _a little...naughty, once."

"I'm intrigued," Ron said, propping himself up on his pillows. "Do tell."

"Alright," Hermione said, grinning stupidly. "When I was nine, my mum told me not to leave the house while she went to the store, but I left the house anyways."

"Alright, that's a start." Ron said, trying to get into the story as much as Hermione seemed to be. "What did you do, once you got out?"

"Oh, I didn't stay outside. I saw a man walk down the street, and I got frightened and ran back inside." Hermione shrugged.

"That's the naughtiest thing you've ever done?" Ron inquired.

"Yes." Hermione said simply.

"I can see why Mum's so disappointed in us." Ron laughed.

"Yeah," Hermione said. Then, her words went to a different subject. She sighed. "I can't believe everything that's happened tonight."

"I know," Ron agreed. "I got attacked by a tree. My pet rat turned out to be a fat old git. And our best friend's dead father was reunited with his friends. Interesting evening."

A tear leaked from Hermione's eye, and she wiped it away before Ron could see. "I miss him."

"James? He's just down the hall-" Ron started, but Hermione slapped him.

"Not James! I meant Harry." Hermione said.

"I miss him, too." Ron said. "I wish he'd come back, soon."

"What if he never does?" Hermione whispered. "Ron, I miss him. I'm worried about him. He could be in trouble somewhere!"

"I know, Hermione." Ron sighed. "But what can we do? It's not like we've got a clue where he is, and even if we did, how would we get there?"

"I don't know!" Hermione yelled. "But we can't just sit around and do _nothing! _I have felt_ helpless _to help Harry for months! I can't take it anymore!"

"You tell me what we can do, Hermione, and I'll do it." Ron muttered. "But I can't see any way of helping Harry."

"I'm going to see Dumbledore." Hermione said, determined. "I plan on seeing Harry _tonight._"

* * *

><p>Sirius and James sat opposite each other in the Room of Requirement. It looked rather like the Gryffindor Common Room, and they'd been in there for ten minutes. But they had yet to actually <em>say <em>anything to each other. Honestly, they weren't sure _what _to say. But James decided to break the ice.

"So...how are _you?_" James asked cheekily.

Sirius rolled his eyes, and laughed. "Oh, just _peachy."_

"You should be." James said, shoving Sirius playfully. "We caught Pettigrew. You'll be free by morning."

Sirius sighed, and said, "I can't believe it."

"Neither can I," James said. "In my time, I never would have imagined _any _of this possible. I mean, you're a troublemaker, Sirius, but _prison_?"

"I still can't believe it's you, Prongs." Sirius said, staring at James.

"That sort of came out of nowhere," James laughed. "But go on,"

"It didn't come out of nowhere." Sirius disagreed. "I was in Azkaban for years with nothing but my worst experiences. Those would include the Summer Holidays before sixth year and finding _you _in Godric's Hollow. And knowing that it was my fault."

"I told you earlier, Sirius, it _wasn't _your fault. I mean, did you _know _that Wormtail was a Death Eater?" James challenged.

Sirius reluctantly shook his head.

"And did you _know _that choosing him as Secret Keeper would result in my death?" James pressed on.

Once again, Sirius shook his head.

"Then it wasn't your fault." James said. "And...Sirius?"

Sirius looked up at James expectantly.

"What _did _happen when you...found me at Godric's Hollow?" James asked carefully.

Sirius sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. "I went to check on Peter," Sirius began.

"You suspected?" James guessed.

"Not really," Sirius admitted. "But I wanted to check on him, you know, just to be sure."

"Right." James agreed, urging his friend to go on.

"He was in hiding but...he wasn't there. And there wasn't any sign of a struggle. And I suppose that _that _was when I first suspected. I got on my flying motorbike, and flew to Godric's Hollow. I-I tried to get there as quick as I could, I did, James! But I-I wasn't fast enough." Sirius said dejectedly. A small tear formed at the very corner of Sirius's eye, and he made no move to wipe it away. James felt horribly for his friend.

"Voldemort was already gone by then," Sirius continued, and James was glad to see that at least _someone _else wasn't afraid to use his name. "As was Peter, but I honestly don't think that the rat was _ever _in Godric's Hollow. He didn't have the guts to face what he did. He wasn't there but...but _I _was. And I hoped, I _so _hoped that something had happened, a miracle, maybe, and that you were okay. Lily, too. And Harry, _especially _Harry. I walked into your house and-and you were the first one I found. And you were d-dead. But I didn't want to believe it, I _prayed _that it wasn't true! But then I saw Lily and I-I knew. You were gone. And I couldn't find Harry, I looked everywhere - I felt that I couldn't let you down. You'd made me Harry's godfather, and I loved him like my _own _son. I wanted to take him in, and give him the life _you _would have. But then Hagrid showed up, and I was already a wreck by then. But he had Harry, and I-I _begged _for him, James, I promise that I did! But Hagrid wouldn't give him to me, and that's when I knew what I had to do. I had to go after Pettigrew...and the rest, I suppose, you know."

"Sirius..." James said, hitting his head on the back of the chair he was seated in. "I...don't know what to say to that. I'm sorry."

"_You're _sorry?" Sirius asked, smiling sadly. "What for?"

"For dyin' on you. For you having to spend so long in Azkaban...for everything." James admitted. "I've been in this time since September, and I've missed my time like crazy because...in my time, you were happy and innocent and...well, _not _in Azkaban. And Remus wasn't so lonely. And Peter _wasn't _a traitor. And Lily..." At this, James let a tear fall from his eye. This was quite unusual behavior, for James and Sirius _never _cried. But after everything that had happened...it wasn't completely strange to see them shed a few tears.

"I know." Sirius said, looking down. "I know."

"I wish I could have known Harry!" James yelled, suddenly angry. "His friends show it all - Harry is a wonderful person! And he's gone through so much_ hell_! I couldn't _be _there for him! And I'm so _angry! _I want to know my son!"

"But I'm glad you're here, James." Sirius grinned. "I've missed you."

James calmed down enough to smile back at his friend. "Missed you, too, Padfoot."

"Hey..." Sirius said suddenly. "Have you seen Moony?"

"No..." James said. "Last I saw him was when we left the Shrieking Shack..." James walked over to the window that was in the room, and looked out it. He didn't see Remus everywhere, but he did notice that it was nightfall.

"I didn't realize how fast the time was going," James murmured. His eyes traveled the entirety of what he could see. They lingered for a moment on the moon before he realized that it was full.

"Hey...Pads?" James asked, turning.

"Yeah?" Sirius asked.

"Feel like going on a little adventure?"

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, OFFICIAL pairings: JPLE, HP/GW, RW/HG, NL/LL, RL/NT, (MAYBE) SB/MM. Now, a little poll; Should I send Hermione in the past after Harry? That might result in more Harry chapters. Should I send Lily into the future? I hadn't really thought of doing that, but if I were to send Hermione in the past, we'd need another brainy girl to keep all the Marauders & Ron in line, wouldn't we?(: Are there any other pairings you'd like to see? Any other aspects of time travel or something? Since this is completely AU now, I need some ideas:) So review and tell me your thoughts!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	15. 15: A Rip In Time

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: Thank you all so much for all of the reviews! Now then: By popular vote, Hermione will be going to the past, and Lily will be going to the future:) But I'm not going to make it completely unbelievable like some stories do: as pointed out, there's NO WAY Lily and Hermione would actually be able to switch places like James and Harry did, but I DO have an idea that makes it work:) Also, to correct something: when I said SB/MM in the pairings last night, I meant Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon. Sorry for the confusion! Sirius/Minerva is ewiee! :P No, but since we'll be going to the past a bit now, I kind of wanted Sirius to have a gal;) Plus, I saw a story with them in it, and I liked the pairing(: Okay, that's it! Thanks for the support!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Fifteen: A Rip In Time<span>

Hermione was ready. She stood in front of Dumbledore's office door. She had what she was going to say entirely planned out. She just hoped that her Headmaster would be able to help her.

She knocked on the hard wood once. Twice. Three times. Eventually, she heard a whithered voice say, "Come in."

Hermione took a deep breath, and turned the metal doorknob. She saw Headmaster Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, in his chair. He seemed to be sucking on a lemon drop, and that made her feel a tiny bit better. At least she hadn't interrupted anything important.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore smiled. "To what do I owe this...pleasant surprise?"

"Headmaster," Hermione began, taking a seat in front of Dumbledore. "I need to speak with you."

"I am intrigued," Dumbledore said happily. "What is it you wish to speak to me about?"

"Harry." Hermione said simply.

"Ah," Dumbledore nodded. "I see. You miss your friend?"

"I do." Hermione confirmed. "And if you haven't figured out a way to bring him back yet...then I would like to go to him."

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore began. "You must understand, that time travel is a tricky business. In all the research I've done so far, I've yet to determine how _James _even got here, let alone how I can send him back."

"But won't he change things, sir?" Hermione asked. "He knows so much already, and he's only learning more. When he goes back, he plans to change the future. I don't...I don't know that I want the future to change."

"Change is a double-edged sword," Dumbledore said. "No matter what, there will be good and there will be bad. We do not always like change, but change is an important part of life. We are always changing, Miss Granger, and sometimes change _is _neccassary."

"Are you saying that you _agree _with James, sir?" Hermione asked quizzically."This seems like exactly the kind of thing you should be_ against. _I mean, if James was to go back and change his future, wouldn't that lead to You-Know-Who _not _dying in 1981?"

"If he does not change his future _correctly, _Miss Granger, then it could be dire." Dumbledore explained with a nod of his head.

"Then how is he supposed to change things without making a mistake?" Hermione asked.

"He'll need to stay longer." Dumbledore said simply.

"How much longer? Why must he stay?" Hermione asked.

"He needs to stay until we can figure out how to defeat Voldemort," Dumbledore explained, and Hermione flinched at the use of the Dark Wizard's name. "If we defeat him, I shall write a letter to my past-self for James to take back with him. When we know how to kill him, I will simply have it done in the past. Imagine all the lives we can save, all the families we can restore..." Dumbledore trailed off, and sighed.

"But what about Harry?" Hermione asked sadly.

"I am afraid, Miss Granger, that there is no way of determining yet whether or not Harry will ever be able to return to this timeline." Dumbledore said sadly.

"No!" Hermione yelled. "Professor, please-" she begged. "Let me go to him!"

"How, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Time Turners!" Hermione said.

"But Miss Granger," Dumbledore disagreed lightly. "Time Turners do not go back _years. _I thought Professor McGonagall discussed that with you when she gave you your own Time Turner."

"But there's one in the Ministry!" Hermione remembered. "It's only a proto-type, but it's been designed to go back years!"

"I am aware of this proto-type, Hermione." Dumbledore smiled. "However, seeing as sending you back through it could risk your life, I can't allow you to do so."

"Isn't there a spell? A potion? _Anything?_" Hermione pleaded. "I have to know that Harry's okay."

"I suppose we could...no, that would never..." Dumbledore trailed off in thought.

"What, Professor?" Hermione asked. "I'm willing to try anything."

"Come with me, Hermione." Dumbledore said, as he made his way to his Pensive.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked.

"It's a longshot," Dumbledore sighed. "But it's worth a try. Hermione, I'm going to show you a memory of mine; one that I'm fairly certain would be around the same time and place that Harry is in now. While you're in the memory, I would like you to try to Apparate into it."

"But Professor, that's mental!" Hermione said. "It's against the law, first off, and I haven't a _clue _as to how to Apparate. And if this _does _work, then why hasn't anyone tried it before?"

"I can teach you how to Apparate, Miss Granger," laughed Dumledore. "And when you're in the past, the Trace won't be on you, so it won't have been against the law. As for why no one's ever tried it before, it's very unlikely that it will work. And I don't suppose anyone's been quite so desperate. And even if they have, they'd have to be very powerful. And they'd have to own a Pensive, which are very hard to come by."

"Then why don't you just send James back now?" Hermione asked.

"Because, Miss Granger, just because I can send him back doesn't mean that I'll be able to send Harry forward. Pensives were very uncommon back in the '70s, and they weren't legal to have inside of Hogwarts until a decade ago. I think it would be much smarter and much safer to just send James back when we're _absolutely sure _that he can change the future _for the better." _

"I think I understand, sir." Hermione sighed. Then she braced herself; it was time to see Harry.

* * *

><p><strong>1975<strong>

"Black, shut up!" Lily groaned. "You'll wake Harry up!"

Sirius Black simply rolled his eyes at the red-head. "Fifteen, she is, and _already _such an over-protective mother. I wish James was here."

"Please. If James was here, then you know right well that Harry wouldn't even _go _to sleep." Lily sighed.

"Lily! Please, _try _to understand; _no one goes to sleep at nine-thirty during the Holidays! _Especially not the day after Christmas!" Sirius said.

Sirius Black and Lily Evans were the only two in the Gryffindor Common Room. It was December 26th, and many of the students were home for the holidays. Lily _would _have gone home, but she didn't want to see her sister. And she wanted to spend some time with her son.

"I wish he'd tell us more about the future," Lily groaned. "I mean, I don't miss the way he looks at me. You'd think he never sees me _at all. _If something happened that caused him to grow up without me, I want to know about it so I can change it."

"And I mean, he didn't even _recognize _me, Peter, or Remus. Did you really _ban _us from him, Flower? We wouldn't be _that _bad of an influence." Sirius said.

"Something's up." Lily concluded. "I want to know _what _it_ is_ though! And I mean, he _hates _Severus; almost more than James, I think."

"Who _doesn't _hate Snivellous?" Sirius challenged, raising an eyebrow. Lily glared at him. "Okay, _besides _you and any Slytherins."

"But the thing _I _want to know is," Lily said. "How in Merlin's name _I _marry James Potter."

Sirius laughed. "I'll bet you _anything _that if James _is _in the future, he danced 'round a room the moment he found the wedding pictures."

"I wouldn't laugh so hard if I was you, Black." Lily said. "If James ends up meeting _my _standards, then he must change a lot during the next two years."

"Can't have _that _much, if Harry still inherited the Cloak." Sirius said.

Lily sighed. "Do you suppose Dumbledore's still in his office?" she asked Sirius.

"I guess." Sirius shrugged. "Hardly ever leaves."

"I need to see him about something. Make sure _nothing _happens to Harry while I'm gone." Lily said.

"No, I was going to go out to the Shrieking Shack and feed him to Remus." Sirius said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"It's not _funny _Black." Lily said coldly.

"Oh, shut it. It's bad enough that you made _me _stay _here _instead of letting me marauder through the grounds with Remus and Peter." Sirius groaned.

"I wanted _someone _to be with Harry tonight, and - sadly - I trust _you _more than I trust _Peter."_

"Oh, just go see Dumbles. Harry'll still be in one piece when you get back." Sirius complained.

"He better be." Lily threatened. Then, she headed to the Headmaster's Office.

"Professor?" Lily asked, as she headed through the door.

"Ah, Miss Evans. Having a nice holiday?" Dumbledore asked politely, taking a lemon drop from the bowl in front of him.

"It's been wonderful, Headmaster." Lily smiled. She took the lemon drop that Dumbledore offered her. "Yourself?"

"It's been most splendid." Dumbledore smiled. "However, am I correct in assuming that you did not just drop by for small talk?"

Lily smiled sheepishly, and pulled out her Time Turner. "I just wanted to hand this in, Sir. I've dropped Divination, so I won't be needing it anymore."

"Thank you, Miss Evans." Dumbledore said, taking the Time Turner from Lily.

Just as Lily was about to leave, she heard a tearing sound. Her and Dumbledore searched around the room to find it's source.

"What was that, Professor?" Lily asked.

"I'm not sure." Dumledore said, crinkling his brow in confusion.

Lily walked around Dumbledore's Office, searching some more. The sound wasn't something that you could generally _ignore. _It had been quite, quite loud.

Finally, Lily found it's source. It would have been quite easy to miss, if you weren't looking very closely. It almost looked like a...like a _rip _in the air. It was a small line, that seemed to have no beginning and no end.

And it was getting larger by the minute.

Lily stepped more closely towards it, and it began to glow. It was getting bigger, and bigger and bigger. Lily stuck her hand out, as though to touch it. Just as she did, she felt almost a suction sensation, and the rip pulled her through. Just as it did, someone else fell out of it.

"Who are you?" Dumbledore asked the girl who fell through the rip. Just as she had fallen, the rip had sealed itself, and Lily was gone.

"I'm Hermione Granger, sir." Hermione said, pulling a letter from her robes. "And I have been instructed to give you this."

* * *

><p><strong>1993<strong>

Prongs and Padfoot were on the Hogwarts grounds in their Animagus forms. They were searching thoroughly for Remus, whom they knew must have transformed, being as it was the full moon.

But they just couldn't seem to locate him.

They'd checked the Shrieking Shack first, of course, as it was most likely that he was there. But he wasn't. He wasn't _anywhere, _or so it seemed to the two wizards. Finally, after nearly an hour of searching, they headed back inside and transformed. Or at least James did. Sirius didn't want to risk being caught until the Dementors left the school grounds and Pettigrew was given the Kiss.

"Of course!" James exclaimed suddenly. Padfoot looked up at him expectantly. "Remus told me about it earlier! Follow me, Padfoot."

James and Padfoot snuck through the halls of Hogwarts, being careful to avoid people using the Marauder's Map. When they finally made it to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Sirius transformed back into a man.

"What are we doing here, Prongs?" he whispered to James.

"Moony told me about some potion he takes; it makes him tame during the full moon. He said he usually transforms in his office." James whispered back.

"You mean full moons are _boring _now?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "Huh. Never thought I'd live to see the day."

James grinned widely. "My words _exactly."_

"Do you think _we _could talk him into going out for a little maraudering?" Sirius wondered.

"_I _think we could. We could give him one of our _famous _guilt trips." James smiled eagerly.

"Can you still turn on the Potter Charm and cry on command?" Sirius wondered.

James's expanding smile was Sirius's only reply.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, ta-da! I hope you enjoyed:) I hope the Time Travel Explanation thing in the beginning made sense...if it didn't, just go with it! This is AU, so I'm just gonna roll with it(: The next chapter will either be out tonight or tomorrow, and will mainly have A) The Marauders going out to Hogsmeade during this full moon, B) James being reunited with Lily, and C) Harry being reunited with Hermione. Oh, and if you didn't, read the AN in the beginning of the chapter - it's sort of important(: Okay, that's it! Pretty please review!:D<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


	16. 16: Of Prongses & Prongslets

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: ThankyouThankyouThankyou! Your reviews (especially the long ones!) make my day(: Please, if you're reading, take the time to tell me what you think:) Now then, this chapter will be almost entirely in 1975 with Harry...and if you like mother/son moments, you'll enjoy this chapter:) Now...on with the story! :)**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Sixteen: Of Prongses &amp; Prongslets<span>

**December 27, 1975**

Harry turned over in his bed. Well, alright, technically it wasn't _his _bed, it was his father's bed.

_My father who I haven't met...ever. _Harry thought sadly. _But at least I have mum._

Yes, Harry had his mum now; Lily Evans. Harry had never had a mother before, so he wasn't entirely sure how one should behave, but...but he was sure that Lily was very close, even though she was only fifteen. Harry found that he couldn't spend _enough _time with her. After thirteen years of never even seeing your mother's face, it was hard to pry himself from her now.

He remembered when he'd first met her...

* * *

><p><strong><em>*August 30, 1975 - Three Days Before Hogwarts*<em>**

_"OY! PRONGS, WAKE UP!"_

_Harry closed his eyes further. He didn't want to wake up yet - it felt as though he'd only just fallen asleep. But after years of living with the Dursleys, he knew better than to disobey one of them when they told him to get out of bed. So reluctantly, he tore the covers off of himself, and stood up, expecting to feel the hard wood of Dudley's second bedroom on his feet- _

_But he _didn't _feel hard wood. He felt soft carpet..._

_"Finally!" shouted a voice behind him. Harry turned around to see another boy in the room. He looked like he _might _be Harry's age, maybe a year or two older. He had a stupid grin painted on his face, and you could tell that he spent a _lot _of time in front of the mirror fixing his hair. But all of _that _didn't matter as much as-_

_"Who are you?" Harry asked carefully. He couldn't help but feel a bit concerned; the last time someone just 'popped' into the Dursleys un-invited, Harry had nearly been expelled from Hogwarts._

_"Haha, _funny, _James. I'm Lily Evans. Why haven't you asked me out this morning, Jamesies? Are you slipping?" laughed the boy sarcastically._

_"Why do you keep calling me James?" Harry asked, his mind still fogged with sleep. "And why are you _here? _And where _is _here?" _

_"Prongs, knock it off." the boy said. "S'not funny this early..." _

_"Prongs? What's a Prongs?" Harry asked._

_"Don't go there!" the boy said. "_You're _the one who came up with the nicknames!"_

_"What nicknames?" Harry asked impatiently. "I've never even met you!"_

_The boy sighed, and approached Harry. He put one hand on either of his shoulders, and said, "James, snap out of it! It's me, Sirius Black, you're best friend. And you're James Potter, our star Chaser and right now, the boy who's making us late for breakfast. And your mum is making pancakes. So let's _go_!" _

_"My mum?" Harry asked. Was this boy dillusional? "And did you say James Potter?" Harry's father?_

_Sirius sighed. "Fine. I can see we're getting nowhere...but I think I know someone who can help...I just hope she's near a fireplace..." _

_Harry watched as Sirius crossed the room. Harry realized that it wasn't_ any _place in the Dursley's home. It was painted in gold and red and it was _huge! _It had four beds inside of it, with plenty of room to spare. Sirius was headed in the direction of a large guild fireplace, and Harry watched as he took Floo Powder from a pouch on the mantle. He threw it into the flames, and shouted, "Lily Evans!" _

_For a moment, nothing happened. Then, an annoyed face appeared in the flames..._

_"What is it, Black?" the girl in the fireplace asked. "Is James concerned that I didn't get his four feet of parchment? Well, I can assure you, I did, and I sent back a very strongly worded letter about his be-" _

_"Lily, no, it's not about that." Sirius told the girl. _

Lily? _Harry wondered. _Like, my mum?

_"Then what is it?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. "I can't stay on long, Black. I'm in Egypt, and we're taking a final tour of one of the pyramids before we leave this afternoon-" _

_"It's about James." Sirius said, grabbing Harry by the shoulder. He shoved him in front of the fireplace._

_"What about him?" Lily asked._

_"He can't remember who he is!" Sirius said furitively. _

_Lily - despite the intensity of Sirius's words - laughed. "Oh, haha, very _funny. _What, are you hoping this'll make me feel sorry for him_?"

_"Lily, I'm being serious!" Sirius said urgently._

_"Wow, Black. That's the first time I've heard you say 'serious' without making a pun out of your name...this _must _be important." Lily said._

_"It is!" Sirius growled. "Just look at him! All confused...not even asking you out, Evans!" _

_Lily took a good, long look at Harry. She seemed to analyze every part of him before telling Sirius, "That's not James." _

_"What? Of course it's James! Who else-" Sirius began, but Lily cut him off._

_"Please! And _you're _supposed to be his best mate! Look, that's not James. His nose is too short, and does _James _have a scar on his forehead like that? No. And besides, I've been in this fireplace for five whole minutes without being asked out." Lily said in a huff._

_"Then who in Merlin's name _is _he?" Sirius asked._

_"Black, how should I know?" snapped Lily. _

_"Come here, then!" Sirius demanded. "I need a bit of help, if you can't see that, Evans!" _

_Lily sighed. She seemed to notice that Sirius wasn't joking around, as Harry assumed he must have a lot. Finally, Lily said, "Okay. But I can only stay for five minutes. I'll be over in a second..." _

_When Lily's face disappeared from the flames, Sirius took Harry, and sat him down on one of the big plush chairs in the center of the room. He gave Harry a long, hard gaze and said, "If you're not James...then who are you?" _

_"I'm Harry." Harry said quickly. He found that Sirius Black could be intimidating when he wanted to be._

_"Oh, don't _scare _the boy, Black!" Lily shouted as she tumbled out of the fireplace. Harry could only stare at her. The red hair...the green eyes...that was his _mum!

_"Mum..." Harry muttered as Lily made her way to the chair he was seated in. Lily stopped cold as soon as the word slipped from Harry's mouth._

_"Mum?" Black laughed. "Who've you been shagging, Evans?" _

_"Shut up!" Lily said. "You know perfectly _well _that I'm not like that!"_

_"What year is it?" Harry asked. Sirius stared at him like he was crazy._

_"1975." Lily said kindly. _

_"'75?" Harry repeated. "How..." _

_"Why?" Lily asked, sitting next to Harry. "What year did _you _think it was?" _

_"It was certainly 1993 when I went to bed last night," Harry told his mum. Lily didn't reply to him, however...she was staring into his eyes..._her _eyes..._

_"You have my eyes." Lily whispered. "How did you get here? What's your name again?" _

_"I don't know how I got here," Harry admitted sheepishly. "But I'm Harry Potter." _

_"Oh, this is too good!" Sirius chortled. "Evans, he's a _Potter! _A _Potter _with _your _eyes! This could only mean one thing-" _

_"Don't even say it, Black." Lily said. "Perhaps James has a brother who-" _

_"You, Harry!" Sirius shouted. "Who're your parents? First and last names, if you please..." _

_"Er..." Harry trailed off uncertainly, looking to Lily._

_Lily sighed. "Just go ahead and say it, Harry. We won't resolve this any other way." _

_"Lily and James Potter." Harry said. _

_Lily paled, and Sirius began jumping about the room._

_"OY! James is gonna _flip!" _Sirius laughed. "Where is the ol' Prongs, anyhow? He _has _to meet his son!" _

_"And...you don't know how you got here, Harry?" Lily asked._

_Before Harry could answer, Sirius interupted with, "But hey! Why didn't you recognize me? Surely if your the Prongslet, you've met Uncle Padfoot!" _

_"Uncle Padfoot?" Lily asked. "What in Merlin's name is a Padfoot?" _

_"I'm a Padfoot!" Sirius defended. "And I'm sure Harry's met his three amazing Uncles..." _

_"More like the Three Stooges," Lily muttered rolling her eyes. Harry laughed. His mother was so amazing!_

_"HEY! I heard that, Evans! You've wounded me!" Sirius said, clutching his chest as though an invisible bullet had gone through it._

_Lily rolled her eyes again. "You should Floo Dumbledore," she began. "He'll know how to send Harry back to his time..."_

* * *

><p><strong>December 27, 1975<strong>

But a very confused Dumbledore _hadn't _known how to send Harry back to the future. After thirty minutes of discussing, they decided that it was best for Harry to go to Hogwarts in James's place. Harry had reminded _everyone _several times that he was _only_ a third-year, but they'd still had him attend fifth-year classes.

"What's the point of pretending to be James if you don't go to fifth year classes?" Sirius had asked.

Harry had also been a bit upset. Why had he never met Sirius or Remus or Peter? They were his father's best friends, he surely should have seen them before. Why had _they _not taken him in instead of the Dursleys?

And then there was the slight problem of Harry _not_ looking _exactly _like James. He was a bit smaller, and his eyes were green, and then there was the whole 'scar' issue...

Lily had actually come up with the solution to _that _problem. She and a 'friend' brewed him a long-lasting Polyjuice Potion every month. It lasted the entire month, and made him look exactly like James. People were right; the two looked so alike, it was scary!

The only other meeting that had been as interesting as the one between Sirius, Harry, and Lily would have to have been the one between Harry and Snape. Lily had approached Harry on the second day of school with Snape and had said, "Harry, this is Severus. Severus, this is Harry. Oh, I hope you don't mind that I've told him, Harry, but don't worry; we can trust Sev."

Harry had stared at Snape for nearly two minutes with his mouth hanging open, Severus doing the same. They had hated each other right off the bat; Harry, for his past grudges, and Snape, for the fact that his Lily's son looked exactly like _Potter._

Now, Harry was reluctant to get out of bed. But he knew that Sirius and Peter would want to go to breakfast immedietly (probably not Remus...he'd be sleeping all day, because the full moon had been the night before) and even Harry himself heard his stomach growling. Sirius obviously heard it too because he shouted,

"Alright, if _Harry's _hungry, then we've slept too long. My poor stomach is _already _in shreds. Let's go to breakfast!"

The three young wizards got ready, and headed out of the dorm. They went down to the common room, where they saw a sleeping form on the couch. Even though it was covered head to toe in a blanket, it was obviously a girl, and Sirius obviously assumed it was Lily.

"Harry, will you get your mum?" Sirius yawned. "We'll just see you two at breakfast."

Harry nodded, and watched as Wormtail and Padfoot disappeared through the portrait. Harry shook Lily's shoulders and said, "Mum, breakfast."

Lily stirred, and threw the blanket off of herself; it _wasn't _Lily.

"Hermione?" Harry gasped. "Hermione!"

"Harry?" Hermione asked. "Oh, Harry, it worked!" Hermione got up, and hugged Harry so tightly, his glasses fell off.

"Blimey, Hermione." he laughed, putting his glasses back on his head. "It's a good thing you're here; I'm failing almost _everything."_

"Dumbledore, he...and there was a Pensive and I-I Apparated, and now you're here!" Hermione sputtered out. Harry laughed further.

"I haven't got a _clue _what you just said, but I'm glad you're here. Oh, Hermione, you've _got _to meet my mum; you two are so alike, it's scary." Harry said.

"It'll be great to meet your mum." Hermione smiled. "I've already met your dad."

"You met dad?" Harry gaped. "How? What's he like? Is he getting along alright?"

Hermione sighed. "Was that Sirius I heard before? Going through the portrait?" she asked.

"Yeah, but how do _you _know-" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off.

"Go track him and whoever he was with down. I think we should have a little talk."

* * *

><p><strong>1993<strong>

Padfoot, Prongs, and Moony were nearing Hogsmeade. Sirius and James had convinced Remus to go out for a little full-moon-adventure with them. Reluctantly (and mostly due to Prongs's fake tears) Remus had agreed. Now, the three of them were running around, having the times of their lives.

Padfoot came up behind Prongs, and tackled him. Prongs laughed (or as much as a stag _can_ laugh) and whacked Padfoot in the stomach with his antlers. Padfoot (being the Drama Queen he is) clutched his chest with his paws, and whined. He fell to the ground, and let his tongue stick out in a facade of death. Moony came over and sniffed Padfoot, and opened his mouth as though he was going to eat his friend. Padfoot obviously smelled the werewolf breath, and he shot back up faster than a gun out of a bullet. Prongs laughed again, and the three continued on their way.

Finally, they made it to Hogsmeade. It was completley deserted, and Prongs smiled inwardly; it was perfect! The three friends spent the rest of the night marauding through the wizarding village, and having a great time. When the moon began to set, they made their way back to Hogwarts. Just as they got there, Remus transformed back into a human, and headed to his office under James's Invisibility Cloak. James just waltzed through the front doors like he owned the place, Padfoot by his side in dog form. James laughed, and scratched his friend's head.

"Well..._that _was fun." James laughed. Padfoot barked out his agreement. They walked through the halls, right past Dumbledore's Office. What they _didn't _realize was that they weren't the _only _ones awake this early; Lily Evans was having a very interesting meeting with Dumbledore at the moment...

* * *

><p><strong>What did you thiiiink? I had so much fun writing this chapter! Now, I think I'm just going to do the chapter half-Harry, half-James, but it'll be split more evenly than this...it won't be just four paragraphs of James next chapter, I <em>promise. <em>I want to write a fun little reunion during his part:) Thanks for the reviews and pretty please keep 'em coming! I'll come out with the next chappy sooon(:**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	17. 17: Reunited Eryay?

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone out there for all of the wonderful support & reviews! And now, some shameless advertising: I've come out with a new story called 'The Stag at the Zoo'. It's doing better than I thought it would, and it's completely AU:) It's a 'James and Lily Come Back to Life' fic with special emphasis on Sirius, Remus, and five-year-old Harry:D So check that out if you're interested:) Okay, advertising over: enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Seventeen: Reunited (Er...Yay?)<span>

**1993**

The next morning at breakfast, James sat with Ron alone. Both of them had spent a better part of the morning searching for Hermione, but they weren't successful. Ron told James all about how Hermione planned on finding Harry the night before, but that didn't help either boy in locating their missing friend.

"Maybe she went back in time," suggested James through a bite of waffle. "Wouldn't put it past her.""

"But how is that possible? If they knew how to send _her _back in time, why wouldn't they just send you?" asked Ron, taking an extra long sip of Pumpkin Juice.

"Dunno," shrugged James. "I'm sure we'll see her soon enough in any case."

At that precise moment, Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat. He used magic to magnify his voice, and said to the very few students who _weren't _still on Holiday:

"Good morning, good morning! I won't keep you long this morning, as our house elves have prepared an extra wonderful meal, but I would like to announce that we have a new student joining us! Miss Marie Evans from Beauxbatons Academy in France! She was Sorted not an hour ago, and will be joining our third year Gryffindors! I'm sure you'll all make Miss Evans feel welcome!"

"Evans?" asked James eagerly.

"Yeah," said Ron, taking another bite of his omelette. "Evans. So?"

"So!" said James, a grin already breaking out onto his face. "Lily!"

However, the grin was wiped off of James's face the moment he saw the transfer student. She was tall, blonde, and had blue eyes. She was standing in the front of the room with Dumbledore, and began to make her way over to the almost-full Gryffindor table.

"Looks like she'll have to deal with _us,_" grinned Ron. "We're the only Gryffindors here!"

And sure enough, Marie made her way over to the empty seat directly next to James.

"Hello," the petite young lady said in a high, trilling voice. "I'm Marie."

"Hullo," said Ron, grinning like an idiot. "I'm, er, Ronald."

"J-Harry." corrected James quickly, throwing hi"s signature grin at the pretty new girl.

"Charmed." said Marie, looking crossly at James.

"So..." said Ron, sitting up straighter in his seat. "When did you get here?"

"Um...just now?" said Marie curiously, laughing at Ron's utter stupidity.

"Oh, right." grinned Ron. "Right. You know...we have H-Hogsmeade trips some weekends...that's er, the Wizarding Village just over...yeah, so...d'you...would you...out...go with me?"

"I'm sorry," said Marie relucatantly, a sad smile playing on the corner of her lips. "I'm - unfortunately - saving myself for someone else. I do hope you understand."

"At least you were nice about it," commented James, looking over at Marie.

"Excuse me?" Marie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This girl - amazing, she is - I've been asking her out every single day since the beginning of our second year, and she's only found ruder ways to say 'no'."

"Perhaps she has a _reason_ for saying no," Marie said, after a moment of thought. "Maybe she just doesn't like you."

James shrugged. "I hope not. I don't know what I'd do without her."

"Are you sure it's not just some crush?" asked Marie skeptically. "That you just won't move on from her once you get her?"

"I could never, ever do that to Lil-Luna. To Luna," James corrected quickly, using the first name with an 'L' that he could think of.

"Right. Okay, well this has been sufficiently awkward, so I'm going back to the Common Room. I suppose I'll see you two later?"

"Yeah," grinned Ron. "I hope so."

"See you, Evans." James said. Marie looked at him curiously for a moment, before shrugging and heading back to the Common Room. James stared off after her, and Ron attempted several times to get James's attention.

"Huh-what?" asked James, trying to tune into what Ron was saying.

"You were staring after her like a lost puppy. What's with you mate?" asked Ron.

"N-Nothing," assured James. "She just...reminds me of someone, is all."

"Who?" asked Ron, taking another piece of toast from the platter in front of him.

"Lily." said James.

"That might just be _you _missing your own time, mate. Maybe you should go see Sirius or Remus, yeah? I'll go looking for Hermione again." said Ron.

"Alright. See you later, then."

* * *

><p>James had been hanging out with Sirius and Remus all day. He told them of the strange new girl, but both of them assured him that it could not possibly be Lily.<p>

"I know you miss her, mate." Sirius had said in a comforting manner. "But there's no way that this girl's her."

"And I know that this is hard for you to hear, James." Moony had said. "But in _this _time, Lily is...er, well...not here. And unless she blasted forward in time like you - which I highly doubt - then there's no possible way for her to be here."

"I know you're right," James had sighed then, and looked between his two closest friends. "I _do _miss her, y'know?"

Now, James was headed back to the Common Room. He approached the Fat Lady, said the password ("Cockroach Clusters!") and crawled into the room.

Only to find Marie crying silently on the couch.

James and Marie were the only two in the Common Room (Ron was either in his dorm or still out looking for Hermione) so James didn't feel out of place asking, "What's wrong, Evans?"

Marie jumped, and James could tell that she hadn't heard him come in. Marie wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, "Nothing."

"Awe, c'mon-" said James, sitting next to Marie on the couch. "You don't trust me?"

"How can I?" asked Marie. "We just met."

"It _feels _like I've known you a long time, though," said James. "I promise you can trust me."

"I miss someone," said Marie finally. "Someone very close to me. I miss him terribly."

"I know the feeling," muttered James. "I'm missing someone, too. But you know what I do?"

"What?" asked Marie.

"I think about the last time I saw them, and about what I'll do when I see them again. Somehow, that helps the time in between pass quickly." said James.

"Wow," Marie said, her eyes widening. "That was...deep, Potter."

"Tha-wait." said James suddenly. "How did you know my last name?"

"Oh!" Marie thought for a moment before saying, "Ron told me. Earlier, I saw him in the hallway."

"And you just _happened _to call me by my last name, did you?" asked James skeptically, a bittersweet hope growing in his heart.

"Well you called me Evans!" defended Marie.

"So? I've called you that for years!" tested James.

"But that doesn't give you any-whoops." said Marie. "Busted."

"And next time, Lils-" began James. "_Don't _use your middle and surname in a fake identity - think like a Marauder, girl!"

* * *

><p><strong>December 27, 1975<strong>

"So, lemmme get this straight-" said Sirius again. "You're from the future, and you're Harry's best friend?"

"Yes." Hermione confirmed.

Hermione, Harry, Sirius, and Peter were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room. Since it was still Holidays, there weren't a lot of people in the school, so the four were able to converse privately without the use of a silencing charm.

"That's awesome!" said Peter, smiling at Hermione.

Hermione tried to smile back, but it looked like a grimace. "Well," she said. "Since I'm sure Harry's told you _all _about his legacy, I'm not really sure what there is to talk about. Or what you'd be interested in, anyway."

"Legacy?" asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow. "No, he's not told us a _thing_! Please please please please tell us!"

"Why haven't you said anything?" Hermione asked Harry, who shrugged uncomfortably beneath her look.

"I didn't want to risk messing up the future." defended Harry.

Hermione sighed. "I think James is going to mess things up royally anyway, so there's not much more that can go wrong. We can just tell them - Sirius _is _your godfather after all, Harry."

"I am?" asked Sirius happily, grinning like a madman. "Oh, no _way!_ THANK YOU PRONGS!"

"Sirius is?" Harry asked Hermione. "Then why hasn't he come for me before? In the future, _why _was I left with the Dursleys if I had Sirius and Remus and Peter?"

"Who're the Dursleys? Why would you be with them?" asked Sirius, acting a bit more...well, serious.

"That's...a bit complicated." Hermione said. "I'm not even sure where to begin, honestly."

"Well, why don't you start with when Jamsies got to your time. Then just tell us what went on there," Sirius suggested.

Hermione, however, shook her head. "Seeing as Harry has told you _absolutely nothing, _I can't start there. In order to better understand what's going on in 1993 right now, you'll need to hear things from the _very _beginning."

"Oh, no." groaned Sirius. "She talks _exactly _like Lily; this is gonna be _just _like Binns's class, I can already tell."

"Not if Harry helps," smiled Hermione. "And hey! I'm not _that _boring!"

"Alright. How did Prongs mess you up in the future, Harry?" asked Sirius. "Did he try to feed you flobberworms?"

"No." Harry said sadly. He knew he had to say it quickly - like ripping off a band-aid. "He _couldn't _feed me flobberworms. Because when I was one year old, Voldemort killed Mum and Dad and hit me with the Killing Curse."

* * *

><p><strong>1993<strong>

"Count on _you _to be able to see through this disguise." laughed Lily. She removed her wand from her Gryffindor robes, and transformed her looks back to their original state.

"Lily!" shouted James. He engulfed Lily in the absolute largest hug of her life and - for the first time - she didn't pull away.

"And have you _really _been pretending to be Harry?" asked Lily.

"Yeah." grinned James.

"How has no one figured you _out? _You act nothing like him!" Lily said, exasperated.

"Y-You met him? He's in our time? What's he like?" asked James eagerly.

"Yes, he's in our time. I've teamed up with Black and Remus and Peter to watch out for him. _He _was who I was talking about missing earlier." Lily admitted.

"It's a shame that we're both in this time," muttered James. "Now, Harry will _never _get to know us."

"What do you mean?" asked Lily, wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion.

"He hasn't told any of you?" asked James, raising an eyebrow.

"He refused to tell us anything." confirmed Lily.

"I don't want to upset you," said James. "But being in _this _time, you'll have to know. You'd find out anyway. Harry isn't like other boys."

"Why not?" asked Lily.

"I've heard a few different versions of the story, but this is what I gathered from it," James began. "We had Harry when we were, like, 21. And we watched over him for the first year or so of his life. But then, Voldemort was after us, and we went under the Fidelious Charm, and we said that Sirius was our Secret-Keeper, but really it was Peter, and Peter sold us out and Sirius was blamed and sent to Azkaban and Voldemort killed both of us but he couldn't kill Harry so Harry went and lived with your Muggle sister and her husband and he didn't know about magic but then Hagrid like burst through the door and was all like 'You're a wizard Harry!' and Harry freaked out and he came to Hogwarts and he was in Gryffindor and he battled Voldemort on the back of Professor Quirrel's head and then he came back and his girlfriend or something opened the Chamber of Secrets and people were getting attacked and Harry killed a huge snake and then I got here before his third year and he's best friends with these two great kids named Ron and Hermione and I was all moping around because everyone thought that Sirius betrayed us but then I found Sirius two days ago because he escaped from Azkaban, and really, what else would you expect from Padfoot? But anyway he's staying here in the castle in a closet in Remus's classroom, they used a undetectable extension charm, and I was missing you like crazy and now you're here!" James said all of this in several huge breaths, and he looked eagerly at Lily.

"First of all," Lily said. "None of that was proper grammar. It was just one large, run-on sentence. Second of all...James, we're dead? And who on EARTH would send Harry to Petunia's? She hates magic! And who is WORKING here? Who would EVER let him do such DANGEROUS things? You know, this all makes sense now...Harry was very clingy with me back in '75, not that I minded, but it was rather...odd. But if we're d-dead...Oh, James!" and Lily completely forgot about any sour feelings she had towards James Potter. At that moment, she knew what became of the boy she'd met just a few months earlier. Lily collapsed into James's arms, and sobbed her heart out. James held her, soothing her, until she fell asleep in his arms.

"It's okay, Lils." he whispered to her. "It'll all be okay. I won't let any of it happen. I'll protect you, Lily. Always."

* * *

><p><strong>I don't know, I guess I just wanted some romance:) I hope you enjoyed! And don't worry, I'll have James and Harry meet up eventually - I did a lot of thinking about this story lately, and I think I have a general idea of how it's going to continue:) And I think I'm going to make LilyHermione switching a temporary thing, unless you guys are enjoying it:) And please excuse the HUGE run-on sentence James said up there ^^^. I know that almost none of it was proper grammar, it was all for humerous purposes:) Okay, I hope you enjoyed! Please review!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	18. 18: I Simply Can't Stand You

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: Thank you for being patient with me! I hope you enjoy the chapter:D in this chapter, expect:**

**1. Some 'Sirius' reactions from the past Marauders about Harry's time.**

**2. Some Harry/Hermione bonding:)**

**3. Snape giving James detentions for PDA;)**

**4. Lily comfronting Snape and James hexing him.**

**5. Sirius and Remus seeing the teenaged Lils:)**

**6. Some godfather/godson bonding in the past:)**

**And now a poll: As it's been pointed out to me in a review, the pairings of HP/GW and RW/HG will be kind of hard with all the time travelling...should I not give Ron a pairing and make it HP/HG? I've never written anything for that pairing, but I'm open to trying it:) Review and let me know! Thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Eighteen: I Simply Can't Stand You<span>

**1993**

"Lils? C'mon, wake up! We'll be late for breakfast!"

James and Lily had accidently fallen asleep on the couch in the common room the night before. Not that _James _had minded, but he wasn't sure how Lily would feel. Yeah, okay, _sure, _they had a son together, but that was in the _future -_ before this whole mess, Lily had called James 'the worst excuse for a human being on the _planet_!'. Not exactly the most charming thing one could say.

"You go on," mumbled Lily, turning over. Her eyes were still closed, but James could guess that they would be bloodshot from all the crying the night before. That could also explain why she was so tired. "I just want five more minutes."

"Are you sure?" asked James. "I don't want to leave you here alone."

"Don't be so bloody protective," murmured Lily, a small smile playing at her lips. "You and Ron go. I'll be _perfectly _fine."

"Okay." James said, reluctantly getting up. He gently placed Lily's head on the couch, and crept up to the dorm to get Ron. When he got into the room, however, he was the only one there. James assumed that Ron - like Sirius would have - had probably just gone to breakfast and completely ditched him.

"Whatever." mumbled James. He got dressed quickly, and crept back downstairs. Lily was still asleep, so he went through the portrait as quietly as he could.

When James went down for breakfast, he found that a few more people had returned from Holiday, but none of them were Gryffindors. They obviously hadn't taken the train back -that would be when mostly _everybody _returned in a few days. No, these kids were probably all pure bloods or half-bloods who had Floo'd here or something. Not that James really cared, he just found it an intriguing observation. Anyway, James went to the Gryffindor Table, and sat down next to Ron.

"Why'd you leave the dorm so early?" asked James, in between bites of toast.

"You and Marie looked _so _comfortable, I couldn't bare to wake you," mumbled Ron, aggresively pulling off a piece of french toast.

James laughed. "Are you saying you like my wife, mate?"

"I'm saying that I saw Marie fir-hang on..._wife_? What the-!" screeched Ron.

"That's not Marie." laughed James. "I _told _you - it's Lily."

"Lily?" asked Ron, scrunching his eyebrows. "You mean Lily _Evans?_ Like, from _your _time?"

"The very same," grinned James.

"Did she and Hermione trade places like you and Harry did? Did you ask her?" asked Ron eagerly.

"Forgot to mention it." James said. "Oh, relax and go ask Dumbldore. I'm sure _he _knows - he knows everything."

"Right...right." Ron said, nodding as he took a sip of Pumpkin Juice. At that same moment, Lily dashed into the Great Hall.

"POTTER!" she screeched. James winced; he'd sort of hoped that they were on a first name basis. And what in Merlin's name had he done wrong _now_?

Meanwhile, several of the teachers at the Staff Table (namely Dumbledore, McGonagall, Remus, and even Snape) were sniggering. Though only Dumbledore knew it was Lily, all of them were thinking that it sounded exactly like her and James used to act.

"What did I do?" asked James carefully as Lily huffed and sat down beside him.

"_Why _did I find black hairs in _my _hairbrush?" she asked.

"_Seriously?_" asked James. "Okay, so I _accidentally _grabbed your brush off of the end-table - what's the big deal?"

"_What's the big deal?" _Lily asked. "The 'big deal' is that you put _my _hair brush in that _greasy _hair of yours!"

"Awe, come on love." James laughed. "It was agreed upon long ago that as long as Snivelly is in a building, no one else is _ever _considered to have greasy hair."

"Well Severus is _not _here, so I can call you whatever I want!" Lily said.

"Wrong!" sang James. "Your Snivelly Slytherin friend is up at the staff table. And watching us with keen interest, might I add."

Lily looked up at the staff table, and all of the anger seemed to melt away. "Severus? And is that..._Remus? _And why does Remus have a dog with him?"

"Yes, that Slytherin idiot is now somehow Potions Master, Remus teaches DADA, and Remus's dog is actually Sirius." explained James quickly. "And might I add that I prefer you as a red-head? What's with the disguise, anyway?"

"_I _can't exactly pass for my future child like you can, James." said Lily. "And the only person who was supposed to know that I'm in the future was Dumbledore, but I knew that you would figure it out. The teachers probably will, too."

"Oh, good. Back on first-name terms." James said, smiling cheekily.

Lily sighed. "I guess I just can't stay mad at you. After everything that's been going on I...I don't think I hate you anymore."

"Good." said James. "Because we have a son together, wifey."

"If you want Harry to _ever _exist, _never _call me that again." said Lily, eyeing James down.

"Awe," Ron said, smiling. "Look at the two of you, bantering like an old married couple!"

"Sort of reminds one of you and Hermione, doesn't it?" asked James, raising and eyebrow and grinning widely.

"Hey! We're just friends!" Ron insisted, causing James to laugh further.

"Well, I was only _kidding,_" James laughed. Then, he whispered in Lily's ear, "_Not._"

"So," Lily said pointedly, looking between the two boys. "What do you want to do today."

"Well, _I _want to talk to Dumbledore about Hermione. Then I'm going to play wizards chess in the library with that second-year Ravenclaw girl, Sarah." Ron said.

"I think Remus and Sirius would be sort of angry if they didn't know_ you _were here, Lils, so we can go see them, if you want. Then we could sneak into Hogsmead." James said happily, looking to Lily. "Would, er, that be okay with you?"

"Yes, that sounds fine." Lily said nonchalantly, nibbling on a piece of toast.

"YES!" James yelled suddenly. He was so loud, Lily had to hold her ears.

"Whoa, whoa, what was _that _for?" she asked.

"You finally said yes!" James said, a bit more quietly. "I have been waiting for that for_ years! FINALLY!_"

As she never would have done before, Lily actually _laughed _at something James said. "Glad I could make you happy, then."

"Make me happy?" James pressed on. "You made my _day! _My _year! _My _life! _The Great Lily Evans said yes to a date with me!"

"I guess that knowing you aren't just going to toss me aside once you've had me sort of melted away my dislike of you." Lily explained, shrugging.

"_That's _all you were worried about?" James asked in disbeilief. "I could have proved that wrong _years _ago!"

"Oh, relax. I've said yes now, haven't I?"

"True."

* * *

><p>Directly after breakfast, Ron headed up to Dumbledore's Office. James took Lily's hand in his own, and led her down the hallway towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where they'd see Remus and Sirius. For the first time <em>ever, <em>Lily didn't cringe and retract her hand. She _let _James hold her hand. In fact...she sort of wanted him to.

"Mr. Potter."

James and Lily froze in their tracks. They both knew the voice as soon as the first syllable came out of his mouth. And they both had very different reactions to it.

"Yes Professor?"

"What do _you _want?"

Can you guess who said what?

"Care to explain what you are doing?" Severus Snape asked in a cold drawl as he came around from behind the two students.

"Well, at the moment, I'm breathing, talking, and holding the hand of the girl I love." James said cheekily, putting extra emphasis on the word _love. _"What is it that _you're _doing, _sir?_"

"I, Mr. Potter, am giving a detention to an arrogant, lazy, rule-breaking Gryffindor." Snape said, looking right at James.

"Excuse me?" James asked in disbelief. "Sir, I believe you were just verbally abusing a student - I could report you."

"James!" Lily shrieked. She was meaning to simply admonish James for his rude behavior, but she'd forgotten that Severus wasn't supposed to know that she was here. And besides Ron, no one else would know James was James. Basically, she just blew her cover, and Severus was smart enough to notice.

"And who do we have _here_?" Snape drawled, coming around to face Lily.

"Marie Evans. Transfer student from France." James said, obviously wanting to keep Snape in the dark. He didn't want that slimey snake anywhere _near _his Lils.

"And how, Miss Evans, did you know who this was?" Snape asked evilly.

Lily sighed. "See, _this _is why I told you last year that you could never be a teacher, Sev. You hate children too much. And Gryffindors."

Snape took a step back, obviously not expecting such an answer. "Excuse me?"

Lily detatched her hand from James's, and removed her wand from her robes. As she was undoing the spells to make her look like herself, she explained, "I had a feeling that the Professors were going to figure this out, I don't know _why _Dumbledore insisted on the disguise- he said it was to 'minimize panic', but I don't get it. James is _already _going to change the future, y'know?"

"Lily?" Snape asked in disbelief. "But how? You're dead!"

"Sorry to disappoint." Lily said, rolling her eyes. "Oh, please. James is dead too, remember? Time travel."

Snape obviously had no idea how to react. He wasn't a man of many words, nor was he good at showing his emotions. Lily was the only person he was ever _real _with, and - to him - she had been dead for 12 years. So he completely ignored both James _and _Lily, and stalked off in the opposite direction. James considered throwing a few good hexes at the oaf, and Lily was sort of surprised.

"Well that was...rude." she simply said.

"Finally, you realize!" James said triumphantly. "Lils, the man is a _complete-_"

"Alright, alright, I _get _it!" Lily huffed. "Can we just go see your little friends?"

"Little?" James smirked. "Lils, they're not so _little_ in this time. Remmy looks like he's, like, fifty, and Sirius looks like he could kill you with one look."

"Charming."

* * *

><p><strong>December of 1975<strong>

"You weren't given any _food?_"

"Did you say that Snape is a teacher?"

"You killed a freaking _Basilisk?"_

"How did you survive an attack from the Dark Lord?"

"You made the Quidditch Team your _first year?_"

"How did Lord Voldemort manage to attatch himself to your Defense Professor?"

"I escaped _Azkaban? _Sweet!"

"But-but I would never betray James and Lily!"

"Peter, you traitor! You little _rat! _I am going to _kill you!" _

Harry and Hermione had just finished explaining the future to both Sirius and Peter. Harry hadn't heard the bits about Remus, Peter, and Sirius that Hermione had witnessed, so he listened with keen interest. He couldn't believe that Peter - someone he had regarded as a friend since he had come to the past - was the one responsible for his parents' deaths. He felt like killing the rat, too.

"Sirius, stop it! Get off him!" Hermione shrieked, trying to pry Sirius's hands from Peter's throat. "He hasn't done anything yet!"

"But he's _going _to!" Sirius growled. "_He's going to kill James and Lily! I'll KILL HIM!" _

"Sirius, p-please, I w-wouldn't!" Peter choked. Hermione was becoming quickly concerned - Peter's face was beginning to turn blue.

"Liar! I bet you've already taken the Dark Mark! _You killed them!_" Sirius seemed beyond reason - he was shrieking and growling and going red in the face. Harry was more concerned about Sirius dying of a heart attack than of Peter dying at the hands of Sirius. But Harry was so filled with grief and rage, that he didn't even bother to try and pry Sirius off of Peter.

"It's no problem to just kill you now!" Sirius yelled. "You've no role in the future other than kiling my best friend! If I killed you, _NO ONE WOULD CARE!"_

"This is why you were sent to Azkaban!" Hermione yelled. "You went after Peter! If you hadn't, Harry wouldn't have grown up with the Dursley's!"

Hermione regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. She saw the instant change in Sirius. He released Peter completely, and slumped back in the chair he was sitting in. His eyes glossed over, and his face seemed void of all emotion. "You're right." he said brokenly. "It's all my fault."

"No, no, Sirius it wasn't - I mean, I would have done the same thing I just-I didn't know what else to do, you were going to kill him!" Hermione said desperately, trying to undo the words. But she couldn't. Their effect - she feared - was ingrained in Sirius.

"And if you think about it," he continued sadly. "It's _my _fault that James and Lily are dead, too. _I'm _the one who recommended Peter, wasn't I? Then it's all my fault. Harry, I'm _so _sorry - it's my fault you grew up like you did, _all _my fault. And you didn't deserve that."

"Sirius, I don't blame you at _all _- I know how you feel about Dad, I would have done the same thing for Ron or Hermione." Harry insisted, but it was like Sirius wasn't even listening to him. He was being so stubborn!

"I just wish I could _talk _to one of them - I mean, I haven't seen James in _months._ I-I wonder if he _blames _me. Merlin, he probably does! He knows about all this in the future, doesn't he Hermione?"

Hermione mutely nodded her head, afraid to say anything else that would upset Sirius.

"Then he knows! And he probably _hates _me now!" Sirius screeched. Then, a sudden thought seemed to pop into his head, and ran up to his dorm without a word. When he came back down, he held a mirror in his hands.

* * *

><p><strong>1993<strong>

Lily and James snickered as they entered Remus's classroom. James had convinced Lily to pull a little prank with him.

"_Only _a little one?" Lily had asked.

"Small. Tiny. Miniscule." James had assured.

They had re-disguised Lily as Marie, and they were holding each other tightly as they entered the Defense Room. Sirius and Remus were both already in there, laughing at some thing or another. As soon as they spotted James with Marie, their faces fell considerably.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Marie." James smiled. "She's a transfer student from Beauxbatons. Doesn't speak a _word _of English. But I've asked her to marry me, and she's said yes!"

"Wee!" Marie yelped happily. "J'aime James!"

"Awe, you're beautiful, too, dear." James smiled.

"Do you even understand what she's _saying?_" asked Remus, as he was the first to unfreeze from the shock.

James shrugged. "Some of it. I figured I'd learn with time."

"Il me veut l'épouser. Je veux l'épouser!" Marie said in an _amazingly _fantastic French accent. (She'd told James earlier that the prank would _definitely _work - Lily had a few cousins in France, and spoke the language fluently.)

"We'll get dinner soon, love." James said, patting Marie's hand. "I know, you're hungry."

"But James, what about Lily?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "You'll never have Harry!"

"So?" asked James. "I'm changing the future when I go back to the past, anyway. I don't need Evans."

"Qui est Evans?" Marie asked curiously, batting her eyebrows at James.

"_EV-ANS._" James said loudly. "_NAME-OF-GIRL!" _

"Apprendre du français, vous l'idiot ! Il n'a pas d'importance comment bruyant vous l'hurlez dans l'anglais, je ne comprends pas!" Marie shouted.

"Wow." James said. "Even when she's pretending to be French, _all _Evans can do is insult me."

"What?" Remus asked.

"Surprise!" Lily yelled, transfiguring herself back to normal. "It's me!"

"LILY!" Sirius and Remus shouted together, enveloping Lily into a huge group hug.

"How did you get here?" Remus asked.

"There was a rip in time - too hard to explain." Lily smiled. Then, she whacked Sirius upside the head.

"Ouch!" yelled Sirius. "What was _that _for?"

"I _told _you to keep an eye on Harry while I went to see Dumbledore about my Time Turner!" Lily shouted.

"Hey, that's the me from your time! I don't remember that!" Sirius defended.

While Lily and Sirius continued to argue, James heard a rather strange sound coming from his cloak pocket.

"JAMES! JAMES! JAMES!" a muffled voice kept shouting.

"OI!" James yelled. "Everyone, SHUT IT!"

Remus, Lily, and Sirius all froze mid-sentence. "What?" Sirius asked.

"I hear someone yelling my name!" James said tensely. The voice continued to yell, "JAMES! PRONGS! ANSWER!"

James went through all of his pockets until his fingers hit cold glass. Of course! The two-way mirror! How could he have forgotten? These were the same clothes James had arrived to the future in - and he'd apparently had his mirror with him!

"Sirius!" James said suddenly.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"No, not you." James said dismissively as he pulled the mirror out of his pocket. He stared into the face of a very _young _Sirius Black. "Sirius!"

"PRONGS!" Past-Sirius yelled happily. "Blimey, I can't believe this _worked!"_

"Sirius, it's so good to see you!" James smiled. "The future's been _weird!_"

"Oh, so is it _him _I should be yelling at?" Lily asked, peering into the mirror James was holding.

"Evans!" Past-Sirius said. "You're there, too?"

"Too much to explain," James said dismissively. "Hey, do you think a growth charm would work on these mirrors? I think we _all _need to have a talk."

* * *

><p><strong>I literally, <em>just <em>remembered about those mirrors! EEP! The next chapter will be SOOOO much fun to write! YAY! So please review so I can post it! SO EXCITED! :D :D :D **

**~PeachyKeen13**


	19. 19: When Worlds Collide

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: PLEASE READ! haha:) Okay, thank you all so much for the reviews! Now, to answer some questions...**

**showmethestars: thank you for the review! Yes, there will be another Lily x Sev conversation soon:) And it will be...interesting:) It might be in the end of this chapter, maybe the beginning of the next, and James WON'T interupt this time:) And if you like them together (or if you're die hard Lily/James) I have several one-shots on my profile featuring both pairings:)**

**Computer-Rukia-addicted: thank you for the review! And haha don't worry, I'm not _that _advanced in French - I'm just starting to move on from the basics:) I actually got my translations for Lily's lines from this online translator (It's called SDL I think...it's awesome!) but yeah, thanks again!**

**And as for pairings, I've decided not to worry about it for now...I mean, they're only 13, they've got PLENTY of time:) It's all just gonna be friendship for right now (except Lily/James :) ) and that's that! Man, this chapter was FUN to write! Oh, and to avoid confusion, Future Remus will be Remus, Past Remus will be Moony; Future Sirius will be Sirius, and Past Sirius will be Padfoot; Future Peter (Who will ONLY be mentioned, as he's still imprisoned - more on that later) will be Peter and Past Peter will be Wormtail; Future Snape will be Snape; Past Snape will be Severus (this is a just in case for them - I'm debating whether or not they'll appear) and I think that's it:) Okay, please enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Nineteen: When Worlds Collide<span>

**The Time Doesn't Really Matter Now - As It Says, They're Worlds Have Collided:)**

"Too much to explain," James said dismissively. "Hey, do you think a growth charm would work on these mirrors? I think we _all _need to have a talk."

"Sure," Sirius said, trying to maintain the grip on his emotions. "On the count of three, then? One...two...three!"

At the same time, James and Sirius took out their wands and shouted "Gorgio!" at their mirrors. The mirrors began to grow and grow until they were as tall as a door and as wide as a wall. Remus and Sirius **(from the future) **took James's mirror and propped it against the wall of the Defense Classroom. Then, Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus sat in desks (since it _was _a classroom) directly in front of the mirror.

Padfoot and Wormtail **(from the past) **took Sirius's mirror and propped it against the wall of the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione, Harry, and Wormtail sat on the couch right in front of _their _mirror, while Padfoot ran up to the dorm to wake up Moony and fill him in on everything he'd missed.

When Moony was up to date on everything, and everyone was settled, Lily and Hermione began to organize things.

"Okay, this is going to get _quite _confusing." Hermione said. "First of all, is everyone up to date on _everything _that's been happening?"

Everyone from both times either said "Yes" or nodded their heads.

"Good." Lily said. "Then here's what we'll do. If you Past-People haven't guessed yet, the two men in this room with James and me are Future Sirius and Future Remus, and-"

"Hang on," Padfoot gasped. "That's _me? _But I'm so bloody old!"

"_Anyway,_" Lily continued pointedly, glaring at Padfoot. "I propose that we just call Future Sirius 'Sirius' and Future Remus 'Remus' and then we'll call the Past Marauders by their nicknames. Sound good to everyone?"

Again, everyone mumbled their agreements.

"Okay," Hermione said. "Now I know this could get, er, _emotional, _so we'll just take turns talking. We'll go around in a circle in both times, and talk to whoever we want about...well, about _anything. _Since it's still Holidays, we don't really have a time limit and there will be minimal interruptions. So, who wants to begin?"

"ME!" Padfoot said immedietly, raising his hand. "And since this _was _all my idea, I think I deserve it, yeah?"

"Fine. Go ahead, Padfoot." Lily said, rolling her eyes.

Padfoot made eye contact with James. "Hi, mate." he mumbled.

"Hey, Padfoot." James grinned. "Blimey, it's good to see you. I've missed the past like _crazy._"

"So...you know about everything in the future, right? About what I did?" Padfoot mumbled sheepishly.

"Yeah." James said, not really catching on to why Padfoot was so down. "Peter's a lying little traitor and I'm dead so you got...thrown in Azkaban."

"Right," Padfoot sighed. "But...well, it's all _my _fault, and I just _have _to know...do you hate me?"

"MERLIN!" James sighed. "I've already explained this to you _once _Padfoot - I don't blame you _at all. _It was all Peter's fault and I mean, c'mon...how could I hate my brother?"

Sirius and Padfoot both broke out into wide grins, and said at the same time, "Thanks, Prongs."

"Wow, that's confusing." Lily commented, looking between the two Siriuses. "It's like, they're _nothing _alike, but at the same time, they're _everything _alike."

"Evans, you're just too bloody confusing!" Padfoot said, shaking his head. "I can't keep up. You make my brain hurt."

"She didn't get any better with age, either." Sirius told Padfoot, rolling his eyes. "I went over for dinner once, and she told me, 'Sirius, if you're trying to succeed at failing, and you fail, what did you do?'"

"Lils!" Padfoot exclaimed. "Are you _trying _to kill my braincells? I don't have that many to start with!"

"And you_ do _realize you just insulted your own intelligence?" Lily inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Just, shut it Evans! Moving on!" Padfoot said. He turned to Sirius, "Why the bloody hell did you go after Peter? You knew you were Harry's godfather, yeah? And you knew who would take him in if you did something stupid and got carted off to Azkaban? Did you even stop to _think _about what you were doing?"

"Would _you _have?" Sirius challenged. "I'll bet anything that when Harry and Hermione told you what Peter did, you didn't even _hesitate. _I'll bet you tried to strangle him or something. And you only _heard _what he'd done. I _saw _it. I _saw _James's and Lily's house. I _saw _their bodies. And I firmly believed that it was all _my _fault. I didn't know what to do - I felt so angry and hurt and betrayed and _alone. _And when Hagrid refused to give me Harry, I felt useless. I had to do _something. _And I knew that the only other person to blame besides myself was Peter. I _had _to avenge James and Lily. Y'know?"

"That must have been _awful,_" Padfoot muttered. "I can't even _imagine..._"

"Yeah," Sirius said quietly. "I couldn't either. Until I saw it."

"And one more question," Padfoot said, turning to Remus. "How did this one-" Here, Padfoot pointed to James. "Manage to get Evans to go out with him?"

Remus laughed - a lot. "You _refused _to believe him when it finally _did _happen. It was Seventh Year, I believe. Lily was Head Girl-"

"YES!" Lily shouted happily.

"And James was Head Boy-"

"WHAT?" Lily, Padfoot, and Moony asked at the same time.

"Who would make _him _Head Boy?" Moony asked. "That would mean-"

"They gave you the Password to the Slytherin Common Room!" Padfoot gasped. "Remus, _please _tell me there was prank-pulling!"

"_Tons, _according to Remmy." James grinned. "Said that there wasn't a memory of Seventh Year he had that didn't involve _us _pranking them."

"YES!" Padfoot shouted triumphantly. Then, he turned back to Remus. "Sorry...er, continue."

"So, they spent a lot of extra time together, and James's head deflated a bit. He was finally real with her, and he Confunded a bunch of pixies to spell into the night sky, 'Evans, _please _go to Hogsmeade with me - I promise I won't be stupid!'. But Lily wasn't outside that night. James thought he was a goner, but what he didn't realize was that the ceiling in the Great Hall copied what the pixies were doing - and Lily thought it was so sweet, she actually said yes. Needless to say, James _didn't _go to sleep that night." Remus said happily, smiling with the memory.

"Awe, James." Lily cooed. "How sweet!"

"Merlin, it's already happened! James did an Unforgivable! The Imperius Curse!" Sirius gasped sarcastically.

"Oh, shut it Pads." James said playfully.

"Okay Padfoot, is that everything?" Hermione asked.

"I suppose so." Padfoot shrugged. "For now."

"Alright, who's next?" Lily asked.

Sheepishly, Harry raised his hand.

"Harry, go ahead." Lily said.

"Why did you go to the future, Mum?" Harry asked quietly.

"I didn't mean to, Harry, I promise." Lily assured, her maternal insincts taking over. "When your friend Hermione went back in time, the rip she made in the time stream accidently brought me forward. I'm so sorry, love."

"A-And Dad," Harry said, tripping over the word. "I guess...I'm not sure _what _to say to you. I mean, I've heard all about you from _everyone _in the past, but I've never actually met you."

"I've heard all about you too, son." James said. "And based on your friends, I think you're a _wonderful _person. I only wish that I could've...y'know, been with you through everything. This whole future is rubbish! But don't worry, Harry. When I get back to my own time, I intend to change _everything _- I've got a plan."

"Oh, no, everyone - _run! _Prongs has a _plan_!" Padfoot smirked.

"Padfoot, if _I _was there, I'd smack you upside the head right now." Lily threatened through clenched teeth.

"I got it, Mum." Harry said, hitting Padfoot upside the head.

"Ouch! Prongslet! You've wounded me." Padfoot complained, clenching his heart dramatically.

"Wow, I was _dramatic _back then." Sirius commented.

"Anyway Dad, what's your plan?" Harry asked, turning back to James.

"_Thank _you, son!" James said happily, mumbling something about '_some_one being supportive'. "Anyway, I'm going to stay in the future until we figure out how to defeat Moldy Shorts. Then, Lily and me will return to the past the same way Hermione did, and Hermione, you and Harry can come forward the same way Lily did. Then, I will go on an amazing quest to defeat Voldemort, and we'll never have to worry about him coming after us. Then, Lily and me will raise Harry, and - Hermione - we'll make sure he's still close with you and Ron no matter _what, _and badda-bing, badda-boom, happy ending!"

"Unless you manage to get yourself killed by Voldemort." Padfoot said.

"Thanks for the support, mate." James said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, for _James, _that's a pretty good plan." Lily said, raising her eyebrows as if surprised.

"Hey! That's your Lily-Way of implying that I'm dumb!" James complained.

"Your words, Potter, not mine." Lily grinned.

"Hey! I thought we were on first-name terms again!" James said.

"_Anyway,_" Harry said, pulling everyone's attention back to him. "There's so much more I have to say to you, dad, but I don't want to hog the mirror."

"Don't worry, Harry." James grinned. "I have _my _mirror, and I'm sure Padfoot would be kind enough to lend you his. We'll talk privately later."

"Brilliant." Harry grinned. "Thanks, dad."

"Anytime, son." James smiled.

"Alright," Lily said. "Harry, is there anything else?"

"Actually, yeah, one more thing." Harry said. He turned to Sirius. "Hermione told me that you broke out of Azkaban."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed.

"And I was just wondering...I mean, I know that you barely know me in the future. But you seem to like me alright in the past. And I was curious...did you break out of Azkaban to find me, or to kill Peter?" Harry said uncomfortably.

"It was a bit of both, really." Sirius said after a moment of thought. "I wanted to _end _Pettigrew, of course," Here, Peter flinched. "But I wanted to give you the life I knew that you deserved. Since I was in Azkaban for 12 years with nothing but my thoughts, I realized exactly _what _I had done to you, Harry. Without James and Lily, I was next to take you in. And with my getting captured, I deprived you of your childhood and deprived you of love. And I am more sorry about that then you will ever know."

"Hang on, hang on, _I've _got a question for myself!" Padfoot said suddenly.

"Padfoot, don't interrupt!" Lily hissed.

"No, it's alright." Sirius and Harry said at the same time.

"Alright, Future-Me," Padfoot said. "When exactly did you start maturing and acting like Moony?"

"Hey!" Remus and Moony complained at the same time. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Again, _creepy._" Lily muttered.

But, Sirius laughed. "I promise, I didn't become Moony. _Or _Remus. I've just been in prison. You'd be surprised what that does to someone. And I mean, Past-Me, how would you feel without James? I mean, the kid's your partner in crime. When James died, I sort of lost that pranking-twinkle in my eye. I didn't feel up to mischief anymore, not that I would have been able to cause any in Azkaban. But maybe now that I'm out, I'll become more like you again."

"Phew! Good!" said Padfoot. "You scared me, Future-Me. You had me thinking that you actually...y'know, _grew up._"

"Heaven help us all if Padfoot actually _matured," _Moony muttered.

"Okay, that's all for me. Harry, you good?" Padfoot asked, turning to his godson.

Harry nodded.

"Alright," Hermione said. "Who else would like to-"

"What? What is it?" James asked, noticing the look on Hermione's face.

"Professor," Hermione began slowly, looking to Remus. "When we started this, did you remember to lock the door to your classroom?"

"No," Remus said cautiously. "Why?"

"Because it would appear that Professor Snape is standing right behind you."

* * *

><p><strong>Haven't done a cliffy in a while:) Sorry all! And I know that this was, like, ALL dialogue, but <em>I <em>think it was intersting;) And I was going to continue, but this was getting really long, so I decided to split the Mirror-Talk in half, so the next chapter will probably be similar to this, except there WILL be one part that has more deatils (namely a certain discussion between Lils and Sev) :) So...yeah, I promise, the rest of the story WON'T be like this, just the next chapter because of the Mirror-Conversation:) But the Mirror will play an important role later, too, and from now on, there will probably be interaction between the times thanks to the mirror:) Okay, this is getting long, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review!**

**~PeachyKeen13**


	20. 20: Snape's Grudge

**James Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**Disclaimer: I solomnely swear that I do not own :'(**

**A/N: Thanks for all the feedback guys! ENJOY! Sorry this chappy took so long, I was having MAJOR writer's block:( But I'm back now! So enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty: Snape's Grudge<span>

"Because it would appear that Professor Snape is standing right behind you."

The four people from the future cringed, and slowly turned their heads backwards. There - standing with an evil grimace on his face - was Severus Snape.

"Well _damn._" said James, breaking the tense silence. Despite the awkward and tense situation, both Remuses and both Siriuses laughed their heads off at James's choice of words and vacant expression as he stared at the old grease ball.

"Holy snot!" shrieked Padfoot. "_That's _Snivelly? You'd think he would have discovered shampoo by now!"

Snape went from glaring at James to glaring at Padfoot. His eyes widened considerably as he looked into the mirror, but he tried to act calm and collected.

"Mr. Potter," Snape said, looking at Harry. "And Miss Granger. Just _where _do you think you are?"

"The past, sir." said Hermione. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Now is _not _the time for your tongue, Miss Granger." Snape sneered.

"Er...Severus?" Lily asked hesitantly, looking up at Snape. "Could I speak to you a moment? Outside?"

"No." James said. "Lily, if you're going to talk to that _bat, _then I'm coming with you."

"No, James." Lily said. "I have to do this alone."

James sighed, but let it go. He knew he wouldn't win if he got into a fight with Lily. So he folded his arms across his chest, and Lily led Snape out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Sev, what are you <em>doing?" <em>Lily hissed impatiently. "You know perfectly _well _what's going on, do _not _blame my son!"

Snape visibly flinched when Lily said the word 'son'. From the moment he realized what had happened, he refused to allow himself to believe that _this _was truly Lily. But it was, oh it was. Her temper now proved that.

"Lily, I-" Snape began, but Lily cut him off.

"Finally!" she shouted exasperatedly. "I thought you'd never admit it was me!"

Snape chuckled, an odd, strained sound. He never _did _laugh much. "You know me too well," he muttered. Then, he realized something. Lily didn't hate the sight of him at the moment - she'd seemed almost happy that he'd known her. He just _had _to know, "Lily...what time, are you from?"

"Christmas Break of my fifth year," Lily answered automatically, surveying Snape up and down. "Why?"

"No reason," Snape brushed off quickly. Yes! It hadn't happened yet! The Mudblood Incident!

"You're an awful liar," Lily smiled. "Did you know that? And why are you so upset and severe looking? And why are you being so mean to everybody? And why-"

"Lily!" Snape said, inside just happy for the chance to say her name again. "One at a time."

"Just answer, please." Lily said impatiently.

"It's too much to explain," Snape muttered darkly. But if he knew Lily at all, she would be stubborn and persistant. Just like her son.

* * *

><p>"I don't like the thought of her out there <em>alone <em>with him." James muttered again. Sirius and Padfoot sighed.

"You really think Snape's gonna try anything on _Lily, _Jamesies?" Padfoot smirked. "They're best friends."

"Were." Sirius corrected lightly.

"No way," Padfoot said. "Who tore them apart?"

"James, obviously." Moony said. "Who else could?"

"It _was _James," Sirius told Moony. "And me, I suppose. We sort of bullied Snivelly and he got a bit...well, angry. And he called Lils a Mudblood."

Everyone in the room, save Remus and Sirius, gasped.

"He did _not._" Moony gasped. Sirius nodded.

"Lils cried for a week. Then she just got real mad. At James for a while, and then she hated Snape. It was the best day of Prongs's life." Sirius grinned.

So did James. "Sounds like it would be."

"Okay, so this has all been light and fun," Remus began, and Padfoot snorted.

"Light and fun? Remmy, we've been talking about the future and death. What would _you _call heavy and Sirius?" Padfoot asked.

"A fat me." Sirius smirked. James laughed out loud until he couldn't breathe.

"I don't get it," Padfoot said stupidly.

"Heavy and serious? Fat Si-you know, nevermind Padfoot." Remus smiled. "The moment's passed. But as I was saying, we _do _need to get onto a more..._difficult _topic."

"What?" Moony asked.

Instead of answering his younger self, he stared directly into the beady little eyes of Wormtail. Wormtail had all but buried himself in the cushions of the couch, afraid to do or say anything that would cause the others

"I'd call you _Wormtail,_" sneered Sirius. "But seeing as you're a lying, filthy, disgustin, betraying, snake-loving little _Death Eater, _I don't really think you can be considered a _Marauder anymore._" Sirius stalked up to the mirror, as though he could literally strangle Wormtail through it. "LOOK INTO HIS EYES!" Sirius shouted, pointing furiously at James. James decided that he'd never, _ever _seen Sirius look quite so livid. Wormtail met his eyes quietly, and he teared up a bit.

"I see him." Wormtail whispered brokenly.

"Don't you _dare _cry!" roared Sirius. "You filthy excuse for a _person! _That boy - your _friend - _is dead! It's all your fault! It's _because of you! _YOU ARE SCUM! EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD THAT EVER WENT WRONG WAS _YOUR _FAULT! _YOU _JOINED VOLDEMORT! _YOU _BECAME SECRET-KEEPER! _YOU _TURNED JAMES AND LILY IN! AFTER ALL WE _DID _FOR YOU!"

"Sirius, I would _never_," Wormtail cried, but Sirius shut him up quick.

"NO!" he screeched. "LOOK INTO HIS EYES! YOU'VE NOT _LIVED _WHAT I HAVE! YOU SEE THOSE EYES? _I _CLOSED THEM AFTER _YOU _KILLED HIM! MY BEST FRIEND YOU FILTHY SON OF A-"

Easily seeing where this was going and afraid of shouting at the little rat himself, Remus cast several silencing charms on the room in which he sat. Moony did the same for the Common Room in his time. Padfoot looked just as angry and near tears as Sirius, and it was his turn to yell next.

"Peter," he began in a low, tense voice. "I have _never _wanted to be allowed to use an Unforgivable in all my life."

"Paddy, don't-" James began, but Padfoot shut him up by the heartbroken look he gave him.

"Prongs," he whispered. "I've not seen you in _months, _and I've just been told that you're _dead. _And I'm _inches _from the murderer. How would you feel if Wormy had killed _me? _Would you just sit there and let him _breathe?"_

James shut up, knowing that his best mate meant business and there was no stopping him. Padfoot turned back to Wormtail, who looked just about ready to die of a heart attack.

"I wish I could ask you _why,_" Padfoot said angrily, pounding his fist on the arm of the couch. "But I bloody _can't! _Because you haven't _done _it yet!"

"How messed up would the timeline get if we ended him?" Moony seethed, staring venemously into Remus's eyes.

"It wouldn't be good," Remus said tensely, wishing with all his being that he didn't have to say those words. He wanted Pettigrew _dead, _dead beyond recognition. In the few months that he'd recently spent with James, it was like he'd gotten to know him again. And now, he was being reminded of what took him away from him in the first place.

"Hang on," James said. "_I _want to talk to Peter."

Wormtail quite literally was _shaking _as he looked into James's hazel eyes. "James, I-" he sobbed, but James cut him off. He was being cut off a lot tonight.

"Wormtail," James said, surprisingly coolly. But Sirius and Padfoot weren't fooled. They knew James better than _anyone, _and they _knew _that a major fit was coming on. "I know you've not done anything _yet," _James continued, putting an emphasis on the word 'yet'. "But to know that a _friend _has the potential to do that to me...rather..._unnerves _me. And I-"

"Hang on, Dad." Harry said. Even though he didn't really _know _James, he was his _son. _There was a special connection there, and Harry could sense the oncoming storm that Padfoot and Sirius seemed to be able to detect. He wanted to avoid that at all costs. "I've gotten to know Peter the past few months, and he seems to be a pretty loyal friend...I _can't _believe he'd do something so...horrible. Maybe he was under the Imperius Curse?"

"No," everyone seemed to say at the same time.

"Peter was a _spy _for a _year _before your father's death, Harry." Remus explained. "And he admitted to it all now. He's a guilty little _rat._"

"Huh," Sirius muttered. "Guess the Animagus was forshadowing."

* * *

><p><strong>Kay, so the big mirror talk is pretty much done. There will still be little mirror talks, but probably not all in that big group. The story takes off again next chapter, so stick around! And I know that this chapter was a bit short compared to the other one, but a LOT happened...so I hope that makes up for it! And I'll try to update again soon...I think I unstuck myself from the writer's block, so we'll see where the story leads! Pretty please review? Thank you!<strong>

**~PeachyKeen13**


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